Telangana State on weed out operation
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: DC/File)
Hyderabad: The TRS government is likely to delink ration cards from welfare schemes. In the ongoing weeding out operations, the civil supplies department officials found at least 25 per cent below poverty line cards or white cards obtained by unfair means.
This was to get Arogyasri medical benefit, fee reimbursement and houses under weaker sections housing programme and less price for commodities. Fee reimbursement jacked up the demand for BPL cards to avail fee benefit from the government.
Though many of them are ineligible, yet they continue to be in possession of the cards not so much for ration but to avail benefits under various welfare schemes at present and in the future.
In fact, the BPL or popularly known as ‘white ration cards’ have become a passport for various schemes, which the Telangana state government is now planning to stop to ensure benefits reaching only the deserving.
“We found that many took BPL ration cards to obtain welfare schemes. While white card holders get Rs 1 kg rice and eight other commodities, the pink card holders do not get any commodity. They are in possession of the pink ration card for identity purposes,” C. Parthasarathi, commissioner, civil supplies told this newspaper on Tuesday.
Asked whether there is any move to delink ration cards with welfare schemes, he said the department has recommended to the government to delink the same to check misuse of cards and welfare schemes. It is under the consideration of the government. An alternative has to be put in place before delinking, he added.
The CM has been questioning officials as to how there could be 84 lakh households in Telangana state as per 2011 census and 89 lakh BPL cards. Added to this are about 14 lakh pink cards, which brings the total to 1.03 crore ration cards.
According to civil supplies department calculations, a ration card normally has about four members of a family. There is certainly gross mismatch between the population as per 2011 census and the number of ration cards.
The CM feels there are 19 lakh excess cards in the state and a good number of them are misused. Following the CM’s threat of stringent action, a large number of ration cards, including those of the dead, duplicates and migrants have been surrendered by dealers and households across Telangana.
“We have deleted names of 17 lakh people from the ration cards list including those pertaining to death, duplication and migration through Aadhar cards data. That accounts for over four lakh cards (average four members per card). Aadhar seeding (verification) of BPL cards is come to 78 per cent now. We are relying on Aadhar since it is scientifically done and is fool proof due to double biometric method,” Mr Parthasarathi added.
The Civil Supplies Department has adopted twin strategy of asking ration shop dealers and people to surrender cards if they are ineligible and going for Aadhar data to remove names from ration cards.
The department found a large number of ineligible cards in Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar, Khammam, Nalgonda, Adilabad and Karimnagar besides Hyderabad. The least number of bogus cards were found in Warangal and some other towns.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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