BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that 34,939 ration cards belonging to ineligible beneficiaries have been cancelled so far. These cards accounted for 1,25,963 family members.
This apart, 7,75,064 deceased persons were identified and their names were removed from the ration card database to ensure transparency and prevent misuse of subsidised food grains.
Replying to a question from Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said the government has taken steps to clean up the beneficiary database over the past two years.
“The verification drive is part of the government’s effort to ensure that food security benefits reach only genuine beneficiaries,” he added.
Providing district-wise data, the minister said Khurda recorded the highest number of ineligible ration cards with 4,932 cases (covering 19,026 members), followed by Cuttack 2,870 cards (covering 10,593 members), Sundargarh 2,430 and Mayurbhanj 2,154 cards. Several other districts also reported significant numbers of ineligible cards including Nayagarh (1,831), Balasore (1,736), Keonjhar (1,479) and Angul (1,427).
In terms of deletion due to death of beneficiaries, the highest numbers were reported in Ganjam (64,729 individuals), followed by Mayurbhanj (53,259), Keonjhar (49,359), Cuttack (40,119) and Sundargarh (38,345). Other districts such as Koraput (36,445), Balasore (35,692), Kalahandi (35,184) and Nabarangpur (33,060) also reported substantial deletions.
The minister also informed that the government has received 17,38,946 applications for new ration cards across the state so far. Out of these, 8,58,654 applications were found ineligible after field verification and 4,96,919 new ration cards have already been issued, benefitting 9,83,900 people. Meanwhile, 3,83,373 applications are currently under field verification. Eligible applicants among them will be provided with ration cards after the verification process is completed.
The government stated that the continuous verification and updating of the beneficiary database is aimed at ensuring that only eligible households receive benefits under the food security scheme while removing ineligible or duplicate entries from the system.
Patra said a total of 1,00,96,299 ration card beneficiary families, comprising 3,28,52,433 members, are enrolled in the state. Of these, 12,38,321 families with 34,35,642 members are covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) category of the National Food Security Act, which targets the poorest households. Another 85,59,251 families with 2,88,54,050 members fall under the Priority Household (PHH) category.