Jammu and Kashmir government refutes claim about cancellation of BPL ration cards

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir's Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCSCA) has strongly refuted reports about the cancellation of BPL ration cards, terming them "totally fabricated" and "based on false assumptions.".

There were reports on social media, particularly of a video, wherein it has been alleged that "…the government has issued an order cancelling around 1.5 lakh Below Poverty Line ration cards, affecting a huge number of beneficiaries and putting their families in distress…"

As per a statement issued by the Department, no such order has been issued. Besides, it has rebutted the claims that the figure being quoted in the said video does not even match the actual deletion figure of 1.27 lakh cited in media reports for having been reported to the parliament recently with regard to fake and duplicate ration card deletions in Jammu and Kashmir since 2013. These are, in fact, the deletions carried out in the past, over 10 years in J&K, as a part of reforms pursued by the Central Government across the country.

"The document added that elimination of bogus/duplicate ration cards and beneficiaries is an essential requirement under the Targeted PDS Control Order of the Government of India, which is now being established through technology interventions like Aadhaar seeding, eKYC, and through field verification," the statement added.

"As a result of accelerated Aadhaar seeding, pursued by the Department, huge duplication of ration cards and beneficiaries was established, leading to deletion of such ration cards and beneficiaries over the years. At the same time, bringing the left-out eligible beneficiaries under the PDS cover has also been seriously pursued by the department, and this effort has also led to the addition of 8.6 lakh eligible beneficiaries to PDS in J&K since shifting to a dependable Ration Card Management System in September 2022," it said.

"Further, it is clarified that only an order issued by the department in the recent past in the context of PDS seeks inclusion of children born during the years 2011 to 2016 in their family ration cards so that additional benefits flow to these beneficiaries and households as per eligibility under PDS," the statement said.

The department has also issued explicit orders for prompt inclusion of any eligible beneficiary still left out under PDS, wherever reported. As a result of these efforts, the number of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), who are provided free food grains every month, has gone up from 66.37 lakh to 66.59 lakh during the last three months.

Additionally, the department has also pursued, in a mission mode, the inclusion of left-out JK registrants on the e-Shram Portal so that none such registrant who is eligible under PDS for free or subsidised food grains remains uncovered. (IANS)

Also Read: Assam: New ration cards distributed to beneficiaries in Cachar District

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