Brought ration-related grievances down to zero in UP: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said complaints related to the Public Distribution System (PDS) system were once among the most common grievances brought before him after his government came to power in 2017.

Recalling the situation at the time, he said that if 100 people appeared before him at his public grievance-redressal meeting, 'Janta Darshan,' at least 60 would come with complaints concerning the distribution of foodgrains and other essential commodities at fair price shops.

He made the remarks while addressing the 50th Foundation Day of the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Organisation.

TECHNOLOGY TO ADDRESS IRREGULARITIES

CM Yogi said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under him responded to irregularities in the PDS system by leveraging technology to strengthen monitoring of ration shops.

E-PoS (electronic point of sale) machines were installed at the fair price shops, and they were integrated with a centralised monitoring system.

According to the Chief Minister, the arrangement enabled authorities to automatically receive an alert if any manipulation was detected in any E-PoS machine at any of the 80,000 licenced ration shops across the state.

CM Yogi said the results of the intervention were visible in the grievances reaching him at 'Janta Darshan.'

He said that while around 100 people earlier meant at least 60 PDS-related complaints, today, even when 500 people come to meet him, there are "zero complaints" concerning the distribution system.

The UP CM attributed the improvement to technology-enabled monitoring and said that 16 crore people across the state are receiving subsidised ration without any discrimination.

CM STRESSES STRONG GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL

During his address, he also said that the "greatest strength of democracy" lies in the trust of ordinary citizens in constitutional institutions.

He emphasised that public grievances must be addressed in a swift and impartial manner.