23 lakh food beneficiaries yet to be verified in Punjab

Around 23 lakh state residents getting ration support under the National Food Security Act are yet to undergo the verification process, according to the Food Supplies Department data.

The number amounts to around 15 per cent of the total 1.52 lakh beneficiaries. Ludhiana, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar districts are among the laggards in this regard.

This is the area where the Centre has asked Punjab to pull up its socks.

The 23 lakh beneficiaries are among those facing omission according to the state government. “Officials will be fanning out in rural areas very soon,” an official said commenting over it.

According to other officials, bigger districts with migrant population have been the laggards. According to the data, in Amritsar alone, 3.05 lakh beneficiaries of the total 14.27 lakh are yet to get their eKYC done. Gurdaspur has 2.09 lakh beneficiaries of the total 10.40 lakhs who have not come forward to get their eKYC done.

Tarn Taran and Jalandhar districts have 1.5 lakh and 2 lakh such beneficiaries, respectively. Bathinda and Hoshiarpur have more than 1 lakh eKYC pending.

Ludhiana, with 17 lakh beneficiaries, is the biggest district in terms of volume. Around 2.41 lakh people are yet to undergo the verification process in the district.