In a bid to ensure that subsidised kerosene reaches deserving people, the Maharashtra government today decided to use Point of Sale (PoS) machines for Mumbai and Thane region from June 1 on a pilot basis.
The PoS machines are already deployed in fair price shops in the urban region of Mumbai and Thane districts.
The move will directly impact the monthly sale of 58,00,000 litres in Mumbai and Thane region, a Public Distribution official said.
Kerosene is currently being sold at around Rs 24 per litre in Mumbai and Thane.
A point of sale terminal (POS terminal) is an electronic device that is used to process card payments at retail locations.
"PoS machines will be used on a pilot basis in this (Mumbai and Thane) region. The distributors will have to ensure that a kerosene purchaser does not have any LPG connection," as per a Government Resolution (GR) issued today.
When asked about the need for such a move, the official said, "We used to sale 8,00,000 litres of kerosene every month in Pune till last some months. Later, the state government made use of PoS machines mandatory for the sale of Kerosene, wherein a digitised ration card is recorded at every transaction".
"The digitised ration card is already linked to the Aadhaar number (of the purchase), which eventually reveals whether that person has an LPG connection or not. With this cross-verification drive, we removed names of beneficiaries, following which the sale of kerosene dropped to almost zero by April this year".
We had anticipated a drop of 30% once the drive ends but truth was more surprising, he added.
"The drive ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of rupees of the government as well as of the tax payers. With success in Pune, we decided to try similar method in Mumbai and Thane as well," he explained.
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