Bengaluru: The process of linking Aadhaar cards to BPL cards has led to the discovery of at least 4.5 lakh bogus BPL cards in the state, according to Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Zameer Ahamed Khan. Speaking to reporters here, he said that around three lakh applications for BPL cards pending before the department would be disposed of by December end.
The Minister revealed that the biometric system in most fair price shops in the state was not working as the shopowners were deliberately tampering with it to revert back to the manual system. “When the biometric system was in use, pilferage had fallen but after it was ruined, it is on the rise once again. So the government is considering outsourcing the maintenance of the biometric machines,” he said.
Mr Khan also revealed that the government would provide around 30 lakh beneficiaries a free gas cylinder and stove under the Anila Bhagya scheme, which was intended to benefit BPL cardholders. In the first phase, one lakh beneficiaries had been identified, but 30,000 of them turned out to be beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's Ujwal scheme and so were qualified. The hunt was on for more beneficiaries, he added.
Asked if Hassan was getting more funds than other districts, he said PWD Minister , H.D. Revanna was good at putting pressure on the government to release more grants for the district. “Other ministers and legislators should also learn to lobby like Mr Revanna and get more grants for their districts,” he added.
