Ration card cuts spark concern as 31K families delisted in Sirsa

In Sirsa district, over 31,000 families have been removed from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana beneficiary lists in the past three months, following a strict verification drive by the Citizen Resources Information Department (CRID). The government officials say the move aims at ensuring that only truly eligible families benefit from public welfare schemes. However, concerns are now being raised about the accuracy and fairness of this sweeping action.

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The CRID used digital data such as income tax returns, vehicle registrations, and agricultural sales to verify the eligibility of families. As a result, 8,779 ration cards were declared ineligible. These included 8,646 State BPL and 133 Antyodaya beneficiaries. The total number of ration cardholders in the district has dropped from 2,91,932 in May to 2,60,822 in July. With fewer valid cards, the food supply at the district’s 485 ration depots is expected to decrease next month.

District Food and Supplies Officer Mukesh confirmed the delisting, calling it a major step to prevent misuse of welfare resources. “More than 31,000 ineligible families have been removed from the list. Verification is ongoing, and more names may be removed by August,” he said.

However, former municipal councillor Neetu Soni has alleged serious flaws in the process. She claims that many genuinely poor families lost their ration cards because the system incorrectly showed them as owning four wheel vehicles despite them not having any. “In some cases, the names of eligible people are linked with vehicles registered under completely different individuals,” she said, demanding a high-level investigation from the Chief Minister of Haryana.

Soni also pointed out that this was not the first time such mass removals had taken place. A similar exercise took place in April, affecting thousands. She called it a politically motivated move, alleging that ration cards were rapidly issued before the elections as a vote bank strategy, and were now being cut just as quickly to reduce the state’s welfare burden.

“Families that were once assured of basic food security are now struggling for daily meals. Many have been forced to run from one government office to another to prove their eligibility and get their cards reinstated,” she added.

Meanwhile Mahavir Prasad, a priest at a temple in Sirsa, has been wrongly shown as owning three four-wheelers in online government records. In reality, he only owns a bicycle. He shared that the cancellation of his BPL (Below Poverty Line) ration card had created a serious food crisis for him. “I’m exhausted running from one office to another, but no one is listening,” he said, expressing his frustration over the lack of help or resolution.

CRID officials said the verification process was data-driven and transparent. Manager Ravinder Poonia said the department was matching information from various state and central databases to ensure that only deserving families received benefits.