Over 10 lakh bogus ration cards removed from PDS in Maha

Shiv Kumar

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Tribune News Service

Mumbai, June 23

More than 10 lakh bogus ration cards have been removed from the Public Distribution System across Maharashtra by the end of last year, according to information available from the Food and Civil Supplies Department of Maharashtra.

“Mumbai and Thane alone accounted for half the bogus ration cards in Maharashtra,” said an official from the Food and Civil supplies Department.

The authorities are now planning to crack down on owners of fair price shops suspected of diverting essential supplies, including subsidised kerosene, which may have been sold to petrol pumps for adulterating motor fuel, according to officials.

The authorities so far have linked 93 per cent of those holding ration cards to Aadhaar in Mumbai, while for the entire state the linkage rate is 87 per cent.

The Aadhaar linking exercise also revealed that as many as 29 lakh holders of ration cards had not availed of their quota of foodgrains, sugar and kerosene from the fair price shops, according to officials. The ration cards of these people have been classified as ‘dormant’.

Maharashtra used to report very high levels of pilferage from the public distribution system till the exercise of linking Aadhaar with ration cards began two years ago.

Officials from the state Food and Civil Supplies Department estimate that as much as 30 per cent of foodgrains and kerosene supplied via the PDS may have been diverted in the past.

According to officials, the cards found to be bogus have been blocked. Officials say they are monitoring the sale of subsidised supplies to those holding dormant ration cards.

Maharashtra has around 52,000 fair price shops spread across the state. Most of these have been equipped with biometric machines and beneficiaries are required to undergo biometric fingerprint authentication before being allowed to draw their rations, according to officials here.

People holding ‘below poverty line’ ration cards are allowed to 3 kg of wheat at Rs 2 each and 2 kg of rice at Rs 3 each. ‘Antodaya’ ration cardholders, with income below Rs 19,000 annually, are allowed 35 kg of foodgrains at subsidised rates.