Kolkata, July 26 -- The state Food and Supplies department has decided not to deactivate any ration card until updated Census data is available after finding that many genuine beneficiaries were being pushed out of the food security net due to errors in the existing database.
The decision follows a representation by the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation, which alleged that several poor and eligible beneficiaries were being denied ration benefits because of flaws in the old database.
"The automated verification system relies on old joint-family records and treats the entire family as a single financial unit. As a result, if the ration benefits of a financially well-off member are cancelled, ration cards of other poor and eligible members linked to the same family profile may also be deactivated," a senior Food and Supplies department official said.
Federation general secretary Biswambhar Basu said the digital ration card database was prepared years ago when many households were registered as joint families. Although many members have since formed separate households, government records still reflect them as one family.
He alleged that the process of "family splitting" has remained virtually suspended, preventing people from separating digital ration cards through Form 14 or the online household division process.
"Many genuine beneficiaries left out due to technical errors have unnecessarily harassed us at the grassroots level," Basu said.
The Centre has decided that income-tax payers will not be eligible for subsidised or free foodgrains under the Public Distribution System and has shared taxpayer data for verification of ration card holders.
"The state matched the data with ration card records and identified 67 lakh income-tax payers. Ration cards of over 26 lakh beneficiaries were deactivated. We have reactivated all of them, and no further
deactivation or cancellation will be carried out until Census data becomes available," the official said.
"Our main objective is to ensure that people genuinely dependent on the Public Distribution System receive the benefits," Food and Supplies Minister Ashok Kirtania said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.