BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government has initiated action against at least 1,404 ‘lakhpati’ families with annual income in excess of lakhs of rupees, but have reportedly been receiving free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in the Guna district. The scheme is intended for families below the poverty line (BPL).
These families, now categorised as “suspicious beneficiaries” by the authorities, have been given 15 days to explain why their E Ration Cards should not be cancelled.
The beneficiaries include 1,098 families with annual incomes of over `6 lakh each. The list also includes 301 families whose members are listed as directors in registered companies, and at least five families whose annual business turnover exceeds `25 lakh. The ongoing probe has revealed that most of these suspicious beneficiaries reside in the urban areas of the Guna district.
One such family resides in Ward No. 18 of Guna town, and its head is a foodgrain merchant with a turnover exceeding `25 lakh. The four-member family had been taking free rations in the name of the businessman’s wife from the Indira Gandhi Sahkari Upbhokta Bhandar. Another family with a similar turnover lives in Chachauda town and has been getting free ration as a BPL family under the PMGKAY.
In the Ahirkhedi area of Raghogarh, a six-member affluent family has been getting free ration. Another family in the same area was availing itself of the benefits until this June.
A five-member Bamori family with an annual income of `6 lakh and a female beneficiary from a family with business income exceeding `25 lakh are also on the list. The Guna district supply officer Awadhesh Pandey said, “All these well-to-do families were getting free ration. Notices have been issued to them, and their replies are sought within 15 days. After expiry of the stipulated time period, their names will be removed from the list of the free ration beneficiary BPL families.”
The list was prepared based on details shared by the Income Tax Department, the Ministry of Company Affairs, and the Central Board for Indirect Tax and Customs. Guna of the Gwalior-Chambal region is among three districts (including Shivpuri and Ashok Nagar) that are part of the Guna Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said, “There can be no crime bigger than stealing the foodgrain meant for the poor families.”