Over 3.6 Lakh Ration Cards Cancelled in Northeast Due to Digitisation and Eligibility Reviews

Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Oct 14: Altogether 3,68,623 ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have been cancelled in the north-eastern states in the past five years.

The ration cards have been cancelled and member names deleted primarily due to digitisation, field verifications, and eligibility reviews managed by the state governments between 2021 and 2025.

Among the states of the region, Assam topped the list with 2,64,197 ration card cancellations, followed by Manipur with 63,318 ration cards being cancelled during the period.

Arunachal Pradesh cancelled 2,875 ration cards, while Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura cancelled 2,565, 12,659, 11,876, 3,178 and 7,955 cards respectively.

Under NFSA, key reasons for cancellation of ration cards and deletion of names are ineligibility, duplicate or fake cards, and death of beneficiaries.

Ration cards of households or individuals whose income exceeds the poverty line criteria, or those who fall under auto-exclusion norms (such as owning a four-wheeler, commercial vehicle, paying income tax, or serving as a company director) are cancelled.

Similarly, identification of duplicate ration cards or duplicate individual entries across different households or regions leads to their cancellation.

Another ground for cancellation of ration cards is failure to remove names of family members who have passed away, leading to active cards drawing unauthorised grain quotas.

The total number of beneficiaries in Assam under NFSA is over 2.68 crore.

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