BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that distribution of new ration cards will start from this month.
Responding to a query from BJD MLA Chakramani Kanhar, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said, “More than 10 lakh applications have been received for new ration cards. Steps have been taken to start distribution of cards by the end of this month.”
The minister further informed the House that the process of e-KYC validation which started from August 22 is underway. So far, 44.37 lakh ration cards have been verified.
Ration card holders have been advised to complete their Aadhaar seeding and KYC verification through point of sale (PoS) machines at the PDS dealer points by September 25 in an attempt to eliminate ineligible cards from the food security programme.
As many as 3.26 crore people of the state are covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) while more than 10 lakh are covered under the state food security programme. The state government has identified more than 16 lakh ration cards which are in suspect list. This led to verification of all ration cards in circulation, the minister said.
Assuring that all eligible persons will be provided ration cards, Patra said fresh applications are still being received and new ration cards will be issued to those who meet the criteria set under NFSA. There are 12 criteria for inclusion of new eligible persons and 10 for exclusion of ineligible ones.
Replying to a question from BJP MLA Sanatan Bijuli on reconstitution of the Odisha State Food Commission, the minister said an ineligible person has been appointed as commissioner ignoring many applicants who have served as IAS, IFS and OAS. “The incumbent food commissioner appointed by the BJD government is involved in illegal transportation of coal and dumping of fly ash. Several retired IAS, IFS and OAS officers having requisite qualifications had applied for the post, but a person with only BA degree was selected because of his proximity to a non-Odia IAS officer who was running the BJD government,” Patra said.
“A committee will be formed soon to investigate the entire selection process. If any irregularity is found, necessary action will be taken for reconstitution of the food commission,” he added.