Punjab to initiate verification drive of ration card holders

BATHINDA: The state authorities have decided to initiate a verification drive of ration cardholders after complaints that many eligible families were left out in the last one year.

In an order released on June 10, food civil supplies and consumer affairs department director Anindita Mitra asked the district food and civil supply controllers (DFSCs) to reregister eligible persons into the database.

The communiqué directed officials to ensure that no eligible person is denied ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. Mitra was unavailable for comments on the matter. Joint director (food distribution and supply branch) Sona Singh said the order is a routine practice and the field staff has not been given any deadline to submit details on the wrongly deleted ration cards.

However, official sources said deletion of their names deprived many of foodgrain under the public distribution system (PDS). A department functionary said that following suspicion of the presence of ‘ghost’ beneficiaries, last year the state government had decided to re-verify the registered families.

Sources said in a drive started on April 1 last year, names of more than 2.5 lakh ration cardholders were deleted.

Bathinda DFSC Mandeep Singh said, the district has 1.86 lakh ration cardholders and after afresh scrutiny, around 10,000 more might be included.

“Deletion of names is primarily attributed to non-submission of papers required for ration cards. The field staff is to re-examine data of the left out members,” said an official.

Since last few weeks, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have been raising the issue.