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Nearly 8 lakh bogus, duplicate PDS cards weeded out
The stipulation to provide Aadhaar numbers and details of all the members mentioned on the ration card has resulted in nearly 8 lakh bogus and duplicate cards being weeded out of the system, Civil Supplies Department officials said.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
“As against the 2.04 crore cards in existence earlier, we now have around 1.96 crore cards,” they said. Earlier, as issue of ration card booklets was done manually, it was easy for unscrupulous consumers to give false figures and data and thereby procure another ration card on the sly.
“But with all details being computerised and linkage of Aadhaar numbers have made the process transparent. Many, who had obtained more than one card, have now given their details for just one of the PDS cards held by them, which, in turn, has brought down the total number of ration cards,” officials said.
However, the common feeling among civil supplies officials is that giving rice free (from June 1, 2011), which the government procures at a price is one reason why malpractices abound. While both Tami Nadu and Kerala were forced to adopt the NFSA (National Food Security Act) for their PDS, it is only Tamil Nadu which provides free rice, while Kerala charges Rs 3 for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Rs 8 for Above Poverty Line (APL) consumers.
Only the 12.68 lakh AAY (Antodaya Anna Yojana) card holders, who form the poorest of the poor segment get 35 kg rice per month compared to the 5 kg a head for all other card holders as espoused by the NFSA and supplied by the state government.
What galls officials is that though they discover and remove the ration cards of unscrupulous consumers, who avail of free rations despite owning multi-storeyed houses and working in well-paying professions, the latter using their influence in local bodies are able to enter the system again by greasing palms.
While about 40 per cent of the state’s population uses ration rice, others take recourse to it as it is free, officials said. In this context the recent state government move to identify priority households (PH) as ordered by the Centre and imprinted on smart cards does not bother officials much as it is common knowledge that the Centre could pressurise the state government to reduce or withdraw subsidy.
Officials confident of completing smart card distribution by month-end
The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department, which is hopeful of completing the process of distributing 1.96 crore ration cards to all consumers by the end of August, has asked salesmen in fair price shops to inform cardholders to provide photos for inclusion in the new smart cards, senior food department officials told DT Next on Wednesday.
Officials added that only 1.70 crore beneficiaries have provided photo’s and another 20 lakhs are yet to give them to the salesmen. “TN presently has 1.96 crore ration cards benefiting 6.74 crore consumers of whom 6.14 crore have completed their Aadhaar linkage, while only 1.87 crore have provided their mobile phone numbers,” officials added. Asked about smart card distribution, officials said the figure stood at 1.19 crore a week ago.
Food secretary Pradeep Yadav told DT Next that the present figure was 1.41 crore as another 21 lakh cards had been printed and would be despatched to consumers in a few days. “However, the Rs.320-crore scheme will not have a cut-off date as even later additions, deletions and corrections can be carried out whenever a family split due to marriage,” he added.
But a new issue that affects consumers is salesmen being unaware of the procedures to get a new ration card for single persons to enable them to enjoy PDS benefits. Shanthi (55) of Perungudi recently found herself left out when her daughter married and moved away to start a family of her own.
The card was registered with a fair price shop in Mylapore and when the beneficiary enquired, the salesman told that the woman might be denied the facility if she sought a new ration card because her name was there her daughter’s card.
But officials, when asked, said that what was necessary was for the individual to live and cook separately, not have their name included in any other ration card, not possess family card from any other state and be a close relative to family members.
However, Aadhaar was a must and once it was linked to the ration card, it was only a matter of time before the new card was issued.
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