KENDRAPARA: Around 200 BPL card holders of Bijaynagar gram panchayat (GP) in Mahakalpada block of the district are deprived of benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Their names were deleted from the list of beneficiaries as they refused to pay `500 each to the officials, they alleged.
They said that the authorities have adopted a faulty ration card verification process. The eligible people were deprived of ration cards as they failed to pay bribe to the Executive Officer (EO) of the panchayat, said Rajesh Mohapatra, a villager.
“Due to reasons best known to the Civil Supply department, we haven’t been included in the new list of ration card holders,” said Gopal Jena.
They demanded stern action against the erring officials who deleted their names from the NFSA list. They threatened to intensify the protest if their demands are not considered.
When contacted, the EO denied the allegation and said the process of verification of ration cards is going on and many card holders were found ineligible.
Block Development Officer (BDO) Kailash Chandra Behera said during inquiry, it was found that the allegations were false and baseless.
Civil Supply Officer (CSO) Ramanath Sahoo said ration cards have been issued to 1.66 lakh out of 2.27 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme.