Ranchi, Feb 19 (PTI) Ruling JMM MLA Hemlal Murmu on Thursday raised in the Jharkhand assembly the issues of manpower shortage and “non-functioning” of the biometric system in remote areas under the Food and Public Distribution Department.
The Littipara legislator claimed that there is a dearth of supply officers at block levels and marketing officers in the public distribution system.
The biometric system introduced by the department for ration is “not properly functioning in remote areas in the absence of internet”, he claimed.
“Biometric system functions with the help of the internet. In several remote areas, there is neither internet nor a tower. In such areas, consumers face huge trouble withdrawing their rations. I want to know from the government what mechanism has been developed to deal with the problem,” Murmu said.
Replying to the MLA, Food and Public Distribution Minister Irfan Ansari said 255 out of 260 sanctioned posts for block supply officers were vacant.
“Taking it as a special case, recruitment of BSOs is being done. There are nine vacant posts of marketing officers, and they will be filled soon,” Ansari said.
On the biometric system, the minister said that the PoS (point of sale) devices were earlier enabled with 2G internet connectivity, but they have now been upgraded with 4G connectivity.
“We hope the consumers will not face any trouble for withdrawing their rations,” he said.
As the House assembled for the day’s business, Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy raised the issue of manpower shortage in Bazar Samitis in the state during question hours.
Out of 900 sanctioned posts, only 105 people are working, and they are mostly engaged in rental collection.
Replying to Roy, Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey said that a detailed regulation is being drafted for Bazar Samitis. The regulation will be aimed at providing better markets and prices to the farmers.
Dumri MLA Jairam Mahto and Congress legislator Pradeep Yadav raised the issue of age criteria set in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) 2025 application.
The cut-off date for determining the age of candidates is Aug 1, 2026. Student organisations have protested over it and demanded that the cut-off be 2018. They claimed that in the last civil services examination, the cut-off date was Aug 1, 2017.
Responding to Yadav, parliamentary affairs minister Radhakrishna Kishore said the issue was discussed during the previous cabinet meeting and the chief minister is also serious over the issue.
The Budget session of the Jharkhand assembly started with the speech of Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Wednesday.
The session will continue till March 19, and there will be 17 working days. PTI SAN BDC SAN NN
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