BHUBANESWAR: With the November deadline for completing the e-KYC verification of ration cards nearing its end, nearly 70 lakh beneficiaries of the state covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are yet to get their Aadhaar seeding done. Without e-KYC verification, a beneficiary will be debarred from getting the free ration provided by the Centre.
Ganjam district has been particularly laggard on this front with more than 5.42 lakh beneficiaries still to complete their self-authentication through biometric process and Aadhaar seeding with the ration cards. A majority of them are migrant workers, mostly those who have moved to Gujarat.
Around 26.52 lakh people in this southern district are covered under NFSA and only 21.09 lakh of them have completed e-KYC verification, said a report of the Food Supplies department.
Ganjam is followed by Kalahandi where over 4.72 lakh beneficiaries face the threat of their names being removed from the food security list as they have only 10 days time to do the Aadhaar seeding. Of the 14.23 lakh beneficiaries in the district, around 9.51 lakh have met the mandatory requirement.
Other districts which have large to do list include Balasore at 3.15 lakh, Balangir 2.83 lakh, Bargarh 2.26 lakh, Bhadrak 1.83 lakh and Angul 1.49 lakh.
The state government launched e-KYC on August 22 this year with September 25 as the last date. Of the 3.26 crore NFSA beneficiaries in the state, e-KYC verification could be completed for only 25.75 lakh by August 31.
“After realising the infrastructure deficiencies, internet connectivity and other technical problems, the state government extended the date to November 30. However, as the situation stands, it is virtually impossible to complete e-KYC of 70 lakh people within 10 days given the multifarious problems the people and PDS dealers are facing,” said state convener, Campaign for Food, Samit Panda.
Reports coming from districts said updating Baal Aadhaar cards are taking time. Since newborns are eligible for a Baal Aadhaar card, the same needs to be updated with the child’s biometrics once he or she is older than 5 years with renewal once he or she crosses the age of 15.
However, even as the e-KYC process struggles to make headway, the government claimed to be ready to issue new cards from the start of the new year. “More than 16 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have been identified so far and ration cards will be issued to new beneficiaries from January 2025,” Food Supplies minister Krushna Chandra Patra said.