West Bengal Food & Supplies Department cancels 2 crore fake ration cards

State govt agreed on linking cards after it made a calculation of the savings in the exchequer that can be achieved following the linking

PGurus Newsdesk

June 26, 2023

State govt agreed on linking cards after it made a calculation of the savings in the exchequer that can be achieved following the linking

To manage pilferation, two crore fake ration cards cancelled in West Bengal

Since a drive to link Aadhar cards to ration cards started in Bengal, the West Bengal Food & Supplies Department has claimed to have cancelled some 2 crore fake ration cards.

The Department has also done a rough calculation of the annual savings that can be done after cancellation of such a large number of fake ration cards. As per calculation, the annual savings will be to the tune of around Rs.3,500 crore.

Department sources have said that when digital ration cards were introduced, the total number of cardholders was around 10.5 crore.

“However, following the instruction linking Aadhaar cards with ration cards, several fake ration cards like one person having more than one card in the name of deceased persons were detected and subsequently cancelled. Currently, the total number of cards in the state stands at 8.5 crore,” a department official said.

Initially, the state government and the ruling Trinamool Congress were opposed to linking the cards. However, the official said that later the state government agreed on it after it made a calculation of the savings in the exchequer that can be achieved following the linking.

He, however, added that the number of cancelled ration cards might be slightly reduced in the near future.

“Some people whose cards have been cancelled have complained that their cards were cancelled without any reason. They will have the chance to reactivate the card with supporting documents. If the Department is satisfied with the documents they furnish, their cards might be reactivated in the near future.”

[With Inputs from IANS]

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