The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Smart card’ payment mooted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Smart card’ payment mooted

Correspondent

The system, based on biometric system, is considered fool-proof
Sanction for works costing Rs. 240 cr.

Kakinada: East Godavari Collector M. Subrahmanyam has said that the payment of wages to workers under the NREGS and pension to beneficiaries would be done thorough ‘smart card’ system in the district from January 1. Addressing MDOs, mandal engineers and other officials at the special awareness programme on the new system, he said the Government had decided to introduce the smart card technology with biometric features for effecting payments to beneficiaries under social security pensions, NREGS wages and housing cash payment.

Advising MDOs to complete the preparations for introducing the new system, he wanted them to take up enrolment of beneficiaries from October 22 and complete the process such as opening of accounts, taking of photos and finger prints of beneficiaries so as to complete it by November 24.

The banks, he said, would complete the appointment of correspondents by October 15 and of community service providers by October 28. All those appointed, he said, would be imparted training on the smart card system. The Collector said that smart cards would be issued to beneficiaries from November 6 to December 7 and the process would be completed by December 15.

Stating that the smart cards based on the biometric system, were considered foolproof and the payment would be effected to real beneficiaries. The system, which was started on an experimental basis, he said, was successfully implemented in six mandals of Warangal district and two mandals in Karimnagar district. In the second phase, the system was going to be implemented in East Godavari, Mahabubnagar, Medak and Chittoor districts besides covering entire Warangal and Karimnagar districts. In the initial stages, he said, the payment would be made both through smart card machines and manually.

The Collector said that administrative sanction was accorded for Rs.240 crores worth of works under NREGS, of which only Rs.180-crore works received the technical sanctions. He wanted the engineers to expedite technical sanction for remaining works. Zilla Parishad CEO Nagesh Babu, DRDA Project Director Ch Kumaraswamy and resource person Sudhakara Rao attended.

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