Chandigarh, Feb. 28 -- The city has 21,000 bogus beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), local authorities found during a verification drive after the Centre asked them to look into the antecedents of 61,481 "suspicious beneficiaries".

The NFSA is a landmark law that aims to provide subsidised foodgrains to low-income families, vulnerable groups, and those with annual income below Rs.1 lakh.

The list of suspected beneficiaries was shared by the Government of India with the UT administration after cross-verification of ration card management system (RCMS) data with multiple central databases. Identified beneficiaries have been given a week's time to file objections at the Sector 17 office, failing which their names wil...