CHENNAI: In the wake of a recent directive issued by DGP Sylendra Babu to superintendents of police warning that citizens of neighbouring countries, residing in the state, posses aadhaar, the civil supplies commissioner asked the district supply officers (DSO) not to approve new ration cards merely because applications are submitted with aadhaar copy.
The commissioner has cautioned officers to be vigilant while approving new family ration cards, as the cards should not be issued to non-Indians. He also gave a slew of instructions to DSOs during the review meeting conducted through video conference on Tuesday.
“A set of instructions are routinely issued to DSOs who are responsible for issuing new cards and functioning of fair price shops. Based on the media reports, we have cautioned officials to be vigilant and not to get carried away just because, aadhaar is submitted,” V Rajaraman, Commissioner, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection told TNIE.
The eligible criteria for new ration cards has already been in place for ages, according to which only Indian citizens are eligible for family cards. “Apart from verifying the aadhaar, officials have been told to take additional steps to ensure that the applicant is a native,” he said.
The civil supplies department also asked DSOs to conduct field verification for certain card holders who have ration cards in Tamil Nadu as well as other states. A DSO said, “A few family ration cards issued in Tamil Nadu and other states are linked to the same aadhaar. There was no clarity on how the centrally managed PDS system approved the inclusion of a person into a family card whose aadhaar was already connected to another card. We will soon commence field verification to ascertain the authenticity of the card holders.”
Two weeks ago, the DGP circular stated residents of neighbhouring countries were suspected to have been residing in industrial districts disguising themselves as guest workers from northern and northeastern states. The ration card holders who have not linked their aadhaar with bank accounts have also been advised to update bank records at the earliest, said the commissioner.