BENGALURU: The state government has temporarily halted revision of BPL cards amid complaints of removal of many eligible beneficiaries.
The Centre had flagged more than 7.76 lakh BPL cards in Karnataka as potentially ineligible, prompting the state to launch a verification exercise.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rizwan Arshad told reporters here on Friday that officials have been directed to keep the revision process on hold in view of complaints that beneficiaries within the prescribed income limit are being removed from the BPL list.
He said the department will complete the e-KYC exercise before determining the ineligible BPL cards. Beneficiaries of around 2.65 crore cards are yet to get their e-KYC done in the state. He urged the beneficiaries to get the e-KYC exercise done by September end.
“Once the e-KYC process is completed, the actual number of ineligible cards will be known. For every eligible beneficiary removed during revision, a new BPL card will be issued,” the minister said.
Rizwan said the National Food Security Act provides for BPL benefits to 65% of the state’s population. Given the current inflation, relying solely on old eligibility criteria could be difficult.
He said around 50 lakh more people in the state are yet to receive ration card benefits and the state will take up this issue with the Union government.
On the delay in the implementation of Indira Kit scheme, Rizwan said preparations for the monthly food kit distribution programme are on. Meanwhile, rice distribution under the government’s guarantee scheme (Anna Bhagya) is on without any interruption, he added.