NT NETWORK
PANAJI
With the ‘final’ deadline of October 30 lapsing, the civil supplies department has decided to soon cancel over 12,000 unclaimed food security and above poverty line (APL) ration cards from the list of beneficiaries.
Despite issuing public notice in newspapers, many people have not collected ration cards from taluka offices. The department will also send a report to the government about unclaimed ration cards.
The department had directed all APL ration card holders with annual family income less than Rs 5 lakh to renew their ration cards by submitting documents by end of last month.
However, out of 2.5 lakh applications received for APL card renewals, only 1.82 lakh ration cards have been renewed in the state and about 10,000 cards have remained uncollected from the taluka offices. This has put a question mark on the legality of the uncollected ration cards.
The department had earlier set an ultimatum of February 10, 2016 for around 5,800 BPL as well as AAY beneficiaries who have applied for food security ration cards to collect the same, but only 3,700 had collected their cards.
A civil supplies department official however said that the number of unclaimed ration cards could go up after all taluka offices submit their report by month-end. However, he said that the department does not intend to extend the deadline.
The official said that the Salcete taluka accounts for maximum number of unclaimed ration cards followed by Mormugao, Margao, Bardez and Tiswadi talukas. The state government had implemented the NFSA in the state beginning December 1 last year and identified about 1.38 lakh beneficiaries which accounted for around 5.20 lakh
people.
The civil supplies department had recently extended the benefits to 1 lakh left out families under food security schemes to allot them 5 kg rice and wheat at Rs 3 and Rs 2 while 500 gram sugar at Rs 13.50 a kilo respectively every month. APL card holders get 12 kg of rice and 3 kg of wheat a
month.