Stating that about 12.5 lakh new ration cards have been made in Haryana, the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that many times, the government has received complaints that the ration cards of actual beneficiaries have not been made, while the ineligible were taking the benefits.
To address all such complaints, a first-of-its-kind initiative was started by the state government and PPP cards of about 72 lakh families were generated. A survey of the families was conducted. Not only this, earlier the income eligibility limit of BPL was Rs 1.20 lakh annually, which has now been increased to Rs 1.80 lakh, he added.
Khattar, interacting with some of such ration card holders through audio conferencing, said: “After all these procedures, the process of making automatic ration cards through PPP was started and in the month of January, about 12.5 lakh new ration cards have been made. Now only eligible people are getting the benefits of government facilities.”
‘Committed to Economically Uplifting Poor and Needy’
Khattar said that the present state government is committed to economically uplifting the poor and needy and every poor has first right to the government. The present State Government is continuously working for the welfare of those at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid.
“Devoted efforts have been made to ensure that the benefits of every single welfare scheme reach the actual beneficiaries. The biggest example of these steps can be gauged from the fact that ration cards of 2.30 lakh families whose cards were erroneously deleted due to income-related errors in the Parivar Pehchan Patra have been re-issued,” said Khattar.
Thanking the Chief Minister, the beneficiaries said that now the voices of the poor are also being heard and it is only because of the transparent policy of the state government that now the eligible and actual citizens are getting the benefits of the schemes.
Beneficiaries said that the manner, in which their ration cards were re-made by taking quick action on the complaint raised before the Chief Minister regarding the discontinuation of ration benefits, shows the accountability and sensitivity of the government towards the beneficiaries.
Inspired by the request made by Haryana Chief Minister to the families who have risen above the BPL list to leave their benefits for those who actually deserve it, Ambala resident Ajay Kumar, a mechanic by profession promised Khattar that the day his income will increase above Rs 1.80 lakh, he himself would give up all the benefits he is getting from the government.
Acting promptly on the request made by a BPL beneficiary Dalip Singh, resident of village Pichopa Khurd, Charkhi Dadri regarding the issuance of an Ayushman card the Chief Minister immediately directed the Deputy Commissioner to ensure that Dalip’s Ayushman card is made at the earliest. Similarly, Bhim Singh, a resident of Prem Nagar, Hisar, also thanked the Chief Minister for getting his BPL card re-issued.
The Chief Minister said that gradually it also came to the notice of the State Government that some families which were earlier included in the BPL category have become financially affluent. Besides this, it was also found that some members of these families who have now risen above the BPL slab had also got a job and were paying income tax as well.
He further shared that in January 2023 itself, the beneficiaries who claimed that their ration card benefits had been discontinued were requested to register their complaints through the portal. After receiving the complaints, the ration cards of about 2.30 lakh families were re-issued after a thorough verification process. Besides this, free ration of January month has also been given to all such families.
“Our policies and intentions are very clear. No eligible beneficiary will be left out to get their due benefits,” said Khattar.
The Chief Minister said that the Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana has been started for the economic upliftment of the very poor families of the state whose income is less than Rs one lakh per annum. Under this, loans are being provided to the members of such families for self-employment.
“Besides this, health insurance cover of Rs five lakh was provided to 15.5 lakh families of the state as per the norms of the Central Government under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Increasing the scope of this scheme, we have started CHIRAYU Haryana Yojana and today about 32 lakh families are getting the benefits of Ayushman Yojana,” informed Khattar.