Several ineligible persons, who managed to cover their names as beneficiaries in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), have surrendered their ration cards in the district fearing action by the district administration. The illegal card holders have been asked to surrender their ration cards before January 15.
As a State wide uproar has become the order of the day related to ration card controversy and the district administration has already announced through public address system to take stringent action against the ineligible beneficiaries, so there is a rush to return the card.
According to Civil Supply Officer of Kendrapada Ramnath Sahu, the district Collector earlier has directed the BDOs of the district to form teams in each panchayats, NACs and municipalities to re-inquire the applications, who failed to get ration card despite their eligibility for getting the NFSA ration card and also to verify the documents of the ineligible persons and delete the names of the ineligible beneficiaries who have been surrendering their ration cards.
Meanwhile, block level committees have been formed to verify the registered applications with the help of anganwadi workers, all extension officers, teachers and tax collectors for identifying the ineligible applicants. The Civil Supply officials also are taking the help of RTO to ascertain the ineligible applicants. About 249 centres have been opened for online deletion of the names. Till January 8, nearly 6,613 ration cards, which were grabbed by the ineligible beneficiaries, have been surrendered before the district administration, informed Sahu.
Those persons having vehicles including two wheelers, business with TIN (tax payer identification number), households with electricity consumption of above 300 units per month, persons having power tillers, fishing boats or other heavy vehicles and professional tax payees along with businessman, affluent persons , PRI members ,who were ineligible to get ration cards and some Government employees have surrendered their ration cards, informed official sources.
According to official sources, the scheme envisages uniform entitlement of 5 kg of subsidized food grains per person per month for priority households. Existing AAY households will get 35 kg of rice per household per month.
Meanwhile, the Civil supply Department has started cross checking the applications through local sources to identify the persons who were not eligible to avail the subsidised food grains under NFSA.
It may be noted here that to grab the Government sponsored benefits of subsidized food grains under Food Security Act as many as 15, 32,737 persons had applied to obtain cards.
The district Collector has already suspended seven Government employees, two VlWs and a Gram Rojgar Sevak for their dereliction in duty, entrusted by the district administration in NFSA ration card works.
A constable and three teachers were earlier suspended by their concerned authority for not withdrawing the applications for enrolling their names under NFSA ration card despite the fact that they were ineligible.