Over 2.25 cr ineligible beneficiaries under food law removed: Food Secy

The government has pruned about  2.25 crore ineligible beneficiaries of the free monthly ration scheme in the last 4-5 months as it looks to make the programme more focused to benefit only the rightful, a top food ministry official said Tuesday. The 5 kg free foodgrains (wheat and rice) per month is provided to only the poor as a means for providing them with monthly sustenance.

However, unintended beneficiaries — those owning four-wheelers, having a monthly income above the threshold or directorship of companies, had crept into the list under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). “Around 2.25 crore ineligible beneficiaries have been weeded out from the NFSA,” Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told reporters here. The secretary said the exercise has been made to ensure better targeting of “rightful” beneficiaries.

Chopra said the eligible beneficiaries are being added to the list by the state governments. Another senior official of the ministry explained that the Department of Food and Public Distribution at the Centre identified the ineligible beneficiaries. The list was shared with state governments for proper verification of beneficiaries and then deletion, if found unfit.

The official said these 2.25 crore ineligible beneficiaries have been weeded out in the past 4-5 months. Many of these beneficiaries had passed away, he said, adding that beneficiaries having directorship in companies and owning four-wheelers, too, have been deleted.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was passed by Parliament in 2013, provides for coverage of up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population.

This covers about two-thirds of the total population of the country, which comes to 81.35 crore, based on the Census 2011.  States are responsible for the identification of beneficiaries and issuance of their ration cards. Deletion of ineligible beneficiaries and addition of eligible beneficiaries under the Act is a continuous process. The eligibility criteria is also being fixed by states.

Free foodgrains are being provided under the two categories of beneficiaries — Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and priority households (PHH). The Act entitles 35 kg of foodgrains per AAY household per month, whereas 5 kg of foodgrains per PHH person per month.

In July this year, the Centre had informed Parliament that against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore, states/UTs had identified only 80.56 crore persons, and there was a scope of identification of 0.79 crore more beneficiaries under the NFSA. There are more than 19 crore ration card holders in the country, while there are around 5 lakh ration shops (fair price shops) across all states and Union Territories.