GPS to track PDS trucks

Hyderabad: Telangana Civil Supplies Commissioner C V Anand on Sunday said that all vehicles supplying commodities, especially rice, from godowns to fair price shops would be equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) gadgets to prevent black
marketing.

Addressing a review meeting with the transport contractors here, the Civil Supplies Commissioner said that all Stage-I and Stage-II vehicles carrying rice and other commodities from the FCI godowns to MLS points would be equipped with the GPS. This would ensure that the vehicles carrying PDS rice are not diverted to other routes.

He appealed to the contractors to support the initiative as it would prevent black marketing of PDS items. Anand, said that his department was making all out efforts to prevent diversion of PDS stocks and was keeping a strict watch on the movement of stocks from Civil Supplies Corporation godown to Fair Price shops to ensure that the essential commodities reach the genuine beneficiaries and that no malpractices and diversions takes place.

The Commissioner said that installing GPS systems in vehicles will not put any additional burden on the operators as it can be recovered with increased profits once the system was in place and diversion of food grains was checked.

He made it clear that the vehicles carrying stocks should not cross the district border without obtaining prior permission of the civil supplies corporation. He said all concerned must ensure that only one telephone number was allotted to each vehicle on a permanent basis. Transport contractors will be given special ID and password to know the whereabouts of their vehicles.

Responding to the request of the transport contractors to give them two years term instead of one year, the Commissioner said the term of the contractors, who worked honestly without any complaints will be given extension for one more year.