Chandigarh, Punjab has developed a centralised automated, logic-based technology platform in collaboration with OLA for issuance of e-passes to the 17 lakh farmers along with online management and regulation of all trolleys during wheat procurement that began on Wednesday.

The app has been adopted by the Punjab Mandi Board to launch an e-pass system with the help of the Department of Governance Reforms and Public Grievances to streamline the procurement operations in the time of Covid-19 crisis.

The OLA app, installed on the mobile phones of farmers, will alert them on the rush spots at the market gates to check overcrowding.

The centralized dashboard of the app, an initiative aligned to the social distancing guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, will also give alerts on pass issuance, expiry and validation.

It enables secretaries of the market committees to generate mobility passes for farmers by the purchase centres as well as the commission agents. The software generates the required number of passes, based on data available with the Mandi Board.

The two-month exercise has begun to procure over 135 lakh tonnes of wheat worth Rs 26,000 crore.

Punjab, which contributes 30-35 per cent wheat to the national kitty, is expecting harvest of 185 lakh tonnes and the market arrival of about 135 lakh tonnes.