Uttarakhand / Dehradun: Ration card holders, beware! Action will be taken if the rights of the poor are violated. Learn the full story

If your annual income exceeds five lakh rupees, such ration card holders are considered ineligible. The department is now preparing to take action against those who are ineligible but still obtain free rations. Currently, such individuals are being given a week’s opportunity to surrender their ration cards to the department. If a ration card holder fails to surrender their card within a week, the department may initiate recovery proceedings against such cardholders, including filing a lawsuit.

Family ration cards are issued based on government-prescribed standards. Despite this, some individuals, despite not being eligible, obtain ration cards and continue to receive free or subsidized rations through the ration cards. This not only hinders eligible individuals from accessing rations but also results in a loss of government revenue.

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department conducts periodic verification campaigns and takes action to cancel the ration cards of such ineligible individuals. In this regard, the department is verifying such ration cards through supply inspectors in urban areas, regional food officers, and village panchayat development officers in rural areas. Over 3,600 ration cards have been cancelled so far in the district through a campaign.

District Supply Officer KK Agarwal stated that the Government of India has directed that all ration cards issued under the National Food Security Scheme five years ago be inspected. It is believed that the living standards of families issued ration cards five years ago must have changed. Families whose income exceeds 15,000 rupees per month and who possess white or pink ration cards under the National Food Security Scheme are now ineligible.

Thus, families with annual incomes exceeding five lakh rupees are no longer eligible for the yellow ration card, or the state food security scheme. The department is requesting such cardholders to surrender their ration cards to the office. District Supply Officer KK Agarwal stated that many people have submitted their cards.

District Supply Officer KK Agarwal stated that a total of 375,000 ration cards have been issued. The department is implementing three schemes. Under the first scheme, the department is conducting verification. During this verification, department inspectors and Panchayat secretaries are going door-to-door in rural areas to check ration cards and canceling those deemed ineligible.

The second scheme involves KYC. All family members are being called to each ration shop for KYC verification, which will be completed by November 30th. Nearly 400,000 people have already been KYCed. In the third scheme, if an ineligible ration card holder fails to submit their card, recovery action or a lawsuit can be initiated against them upon receiving a complaint.