Delhi govt cancels 1.79 lakh ration cards for violating eligibility criteria

 

The Delhi government has cancelled over 1.79 lakh ration cards, removing roughly 7.5 lakh beneficiaries from the public distribution system due to violations such as higher income limits or for failing to collect food grains for 12 months, officials said on Monday, July 27.

According to an order by the Delhi government's Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, the highest number of ration cards cancelled (1.44 lakh) belonged to people whose family income exceeded the prescribed Rs 1.20 lakh per year.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the annual income of one or more members in these households exceeded six lakh, covering over 6.47 lakh beneficiaries who have now been removed from the public distribution system.

The Delhi government earlier this month revised the annual income limit for ration card applications, increasing it from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh, in a move to widen the ambit of the public distribution system. However, the verification process was held earlier.

Officials said a total of 1,79,825 ration cards were earlier found invalid during a verification exercise and blocked by the department. These ration cards covered 7,45,107 beneficiaries.

Over 35,000 ration cards involving 97,634 beneficiaries were cancelled because the ration card holder had not collected food grains for over a year, said the order.

Further, 4,987 beneficiaries taking food grains on ration cards issued in the name of deceased persons, and 29,391 benefitted through duplicate cards, were also removed from the subsidised food grain scheme, according to the order.

A senior Delhi government officer said the process for submitting applications for fresh ration cards is already underway and around 2 lakh ration cards will be issued to eligible people. Applications for fresh ration cards were being accepted on the e-district portal since mid-May, he said.

He said applications for fresh ration cards have been accepted on the e-district portal since mid-May.

The government has also started processing over 3 lakh long-pending applications for ration cards. Officials are returning such forms and asking applicants to resubmit them fully completed. According to officials, Delhi has around 15.46 lakh ration card holders.