Tenants in Kerala can get ration cards on submitting self-attested affidavit
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Now, people living in rented houses can get ration cards by submitting a self-attested affidavit as the government has struck down the condition for a consent letter from the building owner. Till now, ration cards used to be granted to people living in rented houses on the basis of the rent agreement or a consent letter from the house owner.
The condition of the rental agreement posed a problem to many people since more than one ration card was not sanctioned in a single address. Hence, when one tenant secures the card, subsequent tenants cannot get the cards at the same address. The second condition too posed difficulty to many people as their house owners were reluctant to give consent letters.
Based on the complaints of disappointed applicants, the civil supplies director had earlier recommended to the government to effect a change in the rules. Now, the government has issued an order which mandates only a self-attested affidavit by the applicant. Officials said the provision cannot be misused as the database of the public distribution system is Aadhaar linked. Applications will be rejected if the Aadhaar number of the applicant is found to be included in an existing card.
E-ration Card
The e-ration card of the civil supplies department has come as a boon for people in the pandemic time, according to Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil. “It avoids the situation in which people have to visit the taluk supply office to apply for ration cards. They can submit the application and receive the card in the comfort of their homes,” he informed the assembly on Monday.
At present, only new applicants or those making corrections or changes in the existing cards are issued e-ration cards. The electronic card is handy, as it is just one page, and can be downloaded from the department’s website. The beneficiary can submit the application either through the citizen login on the website or through Akshaya centres. The application fee can be paid through the government’s e-treasury portal. The sanctioned cards can be downloaded using the same logins.