BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government has started distribution of ration cards to 5.90 lakh beneficiaries after a fresh survey, the fate of nearly eight lakh applicants hangs in balance as they are yet to receive any clarity on their application status.
The state government had received around 13.86 lakh applications - both via online and offline mode - after its decision to cover all left-out eligible persons under the food security schemes of the central and state governments.
After a field-level verification, the government announced the selection of 5.90 lakh new beneficiaries who will be covered under the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS). However, in absence of any communication from the authorities concerned, fate of the remaining around 7.96 lakh applicants is still in the dark. While PDS dealers supplying free rations are their only point of contact to know whether their applications have been selected or rejected, the former too, are clueless.
Sameet Panda, convenor of Odisha Khadya Adhikar Abhijan said inclusion and exclusion under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and SFSS is based on the criteria set by the government in 2014. “However, things have changed a lot in the last 10 years and the government needs to revisit the criteria for selection of beneficiaries. No one is sure if the remaining applications are pending for accommodation in the future or they have been rejected as the government is not putting anything in the public domain,” he added.
Panda further said that the state government has the opportunity and resources to cover all eligible persons under SFSS as NFSA quota has been exhausted after shifting for over 5.88 lakh beneficiaries from state food scheme list to NFSA list.
“After the Centre’s decision to provide food grains free of cost from January 2024, the state government will save approximately Rs 600 crore annually as the subsidy burden of Rs 2 per kilogram of rice of the state is being taken care by the Centre. This amount could be utilised to accommodate all eligible left out persons under the state scheme,” he added.
The previous BJD government had launched SFSS in 2018 to cover 25 lakh individuals who were eligible but could not be covered under NFSA as the central quota was fixed for 3.26 crore people. Now only 1.33 lakh ration cards covering 4.20 lakh persons are under SFSS.
With no vacancies under NFSA, those who had applied under the central food security programme a year ago are not sure if they will get the new ration cards, said an officer of the Civil Supplies department.