PANAJI
Following directions from the Centre, the Goa government is considering bringing all 450 fair price shops (FPSs) in the State under CCTV surveillance, apart from re-designing these outlets with uniform saffron colour exteriors.
The Union Ministry for Food and Civil Supplies through a communication to all the States including Goa in July, had issued series of directions including exploring the feasibility of installation of CCTV cameras at all FPSs, common colour code, integration of weighing scale with electronic Point of Sales (ePoS) devices, etc.
Taking this into consideration, the State Directorate of Civil Supplies has taken the Public Works Department on-board to re-design all these shops with the same design, colour and pattern of display so that they are easily identifiable from ordinary shops and the public are informed about the available commodities, stock quantity and price.
“It is very important that FPSs have a common colour to help beneficiaries distinguish these shops from other outlets in any crowded market place,” a senior official said, adding that in Goa, the government has decided to go for saffron colour.
Currently, FPS is either operational from rented premises or owned individually. There are around 50 FPSs operated under Co-operative societies.
“We are also working on a proposal to bring these FPSs under CCTV surveillance. The monitoring would be either at taluka or district level,” official said.
Following re-designing, the FPSs would be advised to display information boards, preferably with colour painting showing beneficiary’s rights.
