JAGATSINGHPUR: The Civil Supplies department has drawn flak for allegedly relying on a fake letter for registering beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Sources said the fake letter deprived a large number of eligible beneficiaries from the NFSA benefits. The Supreme Court had recently ordered to issue ration cards to migrant workers and unskilled labourers found eligible under the e-shram portal.
Accordingly, the Civil Supplies department initiated a district-wide survey to identify eligible migrant labourers under the Act.
The survey, which concluded on November 19, had tasked block development officers and municipal executive officers with conducting field verification for the purpose. Executive officer of Jagatsinghpur municipality Seema Jena directed her field staff on June 4 to survey 434 migrant labourers within the municipality.
During Jena’s absence from June 29 to August 29, the municipality was under two revenue officials including a local tehsildar. It was during this time that a fake letter, allegedly issued in the name of Jagatsinghpur municipality, was sent to the department stating out of 652 migrant labourers surveyed, 535 were found ineligible.
While the department without further verifying the authenticity of the letter went ahead with the numbers cited to distribute essential commodities to PDS dealers, the matter came to light when the municipality stated it had not sent any letter for the purpose.
Jena said she would seek intervention of the collector to take legal action against those found involved in the fraud. Jagatsinghpur sub-collector Prasanta Kumar Tarai said a probe is underway and legal action would be taken against those found involved in issuing the fake letter.