PANAJI: The civil supplies department has cancelled almost three per cent of the total food security and above poverty line ration cards, as these cards were found to be unclaimed.
With the implementation of National Food Security Act, 2013 and digitisation of existing ration cards, the department had identified 3,38,676 ration cards of which 8,656 were cancelled in December last year for not collecting the ration cards.
Despite giving public notice in newspapers and waiting for almost nine months, the householders did not show any interest in collecting their ration cards.
The department has sent a report to the government about the unclaimed ration cards.
The taluka-wise list of unclaimed NFSA cards had been put on the website of the civil supplies department. However, indifference of village panchayats in not carrying out applicant verification is believed to be one of the major reasons for the unclaimed cards.
The department had put a condition for issuing the cards – no cards will be issued to any member of a household unless the identity is verified.
“Hence we were unable to issue cards because none of family members came to collect the ration cards which must be collected by showing valid government ID cards,” an official said.
Refusing to look at the unclaimed cards as bogus, the official said, “We can’t say that these unclaimed ration cards were bogus because they either belonged to migrants, who frequently migrate, or to those who have emigrated for greener pastures,” the official added.
The figures show that out of 54815 ration cards 2000 have been cancelled in Bardez taluka, which is followed by Salcete taluka with 1781 ration cards being cancelled out of 63054.
In Mormugao taluka, out of 31632 cards 1618 have been cancelled, while in Tiswadi taluka out of 35600 cards 1567 have been cancelled.
Canacona taluka had 54 unclaimed cards, Pernem taluka 62 while 71 cards have been cancelled in Bicholim and Sattari talukas.
The department had set a time limit of February 10 last year asking the people to collect their ration cards.
Later, the deadline was extended till October, but the response had been poor.