HYDERABAD: Speaking in the Assembly, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar clarified that if a ration card holder does not draw ration from fair price shops for three months straight, his or her card would lapse. He, however, assured that those card holders, who could not draw ration due to the pandemic, can get their lapsed ration cards restored.
Responding to a question raised by a few members during the Question Hour, the Minister said that since the formation of Telangana, about 9,41,641 applications for the new ration cards were received, out of which 3,59,974 were issued as per eligibility.
“As many as 92,892 were rejected, and the remaining 4,88,775 applications are being processed,” Kamalakar added. “The process of issuance of food security cards is a continuous one. The government had issued 44,734 white ration cards in Hyderabad in the last three years. Another 97,000 ration cards are pending in the State capital,” he said.
The Minister refuted the allegations that no new ration cards were issued in the last three years, and added that due to the pandemic last year, things had slowed down a bit as the department was busy providing relief to people in need.