HYDERABAD: The state government has launched a special drive to verify close to one lakh ration cards, which were flagged by the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India.
According to officials, the authorities have taken up field-level verification to check whether the holders of these suspected cards are entitled to receive benefits under the National Food Security Act.
The Union government flagged the food security cards with an objective of removing ineligible or duplicate entries from the Public Distribution System (PDS). The flagged food security cards would account for over 1.6 lakh beneficiaries, identified through a national database analysis.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior officer said, “The flagged food security cards may include inactive ration cards that have been unused for more than six months, duplicate beneficiaries registered in different states, age discrepancies such as individuals over 100 years old or minors under 18 listed as single-member households, and Aadhaar records of invalid or deceased individuals.”
The government will complete the verification process and send a report to the Union government, the official added.
According to the data made available by the Civil Supplies department, the food security cards are categorised into three sections such AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana), PHH (Priority Household) and the lesser-used AAP (Annapurna) scheme.
While there are as many as 91,44,636 active ration cards in the state, 5,66,241 are AAY cards, 85,73,012 are PHH cards, and 5,383 are AAP cards. The total beneficiaries in the state are 3,00,24,937.
