CUTTACK: Discrepancies in selection of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) in the city, that had come to fore during distribution of special ration and financial assistance during the first and second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, once again become evident during distribution of smart health cards under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).
As per reports, as many as 73,186 PDS beneficiaries across 59 wards of CMC, are being given subsidised rice, wheat and kerosene under both the schemes in the city.
While the civic body officials so far have been able to distribute 66,183 BSKY cards to the beneficiaries, as many as 7,003 cards are yet to be given out raising questions over the genuineness of the beneficiaries who are not turning up to receive their cards.
Owing to problems faced by the food security scheme beneficiaries due to the lockdown, the government had provided Rs 1,000 financial assistance to each PDS beneficiary.
The civic body had received over Rs 7.21 crore for the purpose. However, while over Rs 7.09 crore was disbursed among 70,949 beneficiaries, the rest Rs 12,29,000 could not be given to 1,229 beneficiaries.
The civic body officials who were clueless as to why the beneficiaries did not turn up to receive the financial assistance then returned the surplus amount to the district civil supplies officer. Civil supplies officials are yet to verify the genuineness of the 1,229 beneficiaries who were getting the ration but did not turn up to receive the financial assistance.
CMC deputy commissioner Swetapadma Satapathy said steps are being taken to verify the beneficiaries and distribute the smart health cards lying with the civic body at dealers’ points. “Some beneficiaries have been relocated due to massive eviction drive carried out recently in the city. This may be the reason behind the surplus BSKY cards lying undistributed. We are trying to verify and distribute the same at dealers’ points,” she said.