Fake ration cards to be weeded out in 2 months

BANGALORE: Bogus ration cards in the state would be cancelled in the next two months. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Shobha Karandlaje in reply to a query on irregularities in the distribution of ration cards raised by BJP member Kota Srinivas Pujari in the Legislative Council said that the process of identifying fake ration cards was on and would be completed in two months.

 "We will weed out the fake cards and issue fresh cards to the genuine beneficiaries," she added here on Monday.

At present, 1,75,80,411 ration cards (including APL, BPL and Anthyodaya cards) have been issued in the state though there are just 1.17 crore families, as per the 2011 census. These excess cards are causing a loss of `80 to `100 crore per month, Shobha said.

She pointed fingers at COMET Technologies, the agency entrusted with identifying BPL families and issuing them cards in 2006, for not adhering to guidelines fixed by government.

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