Procedure to get ration cards to be eased, new systems coming

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, July 31, 2016: As per reports,  The Food and Civil Supplies department is all set to simplify the procedure for obtaining ration cards.  It has been decided to bring down the number of conditions to categorise beneficiaries under BPL, Below Poverty Line  and APL,  Above Poverty Line, from the existing 14 to four with the Aadhaar number as the main link.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader announced this to media on JUly 30, Saturday, he said, "For  BPL cards, the total consumption of electricity per month for a household should not exceed 125 units; the household should not have more than 800 square feet of built area in urban limits and 1,200 square feet in rural limits and should not use four-wheelersfor livelihood. If the four-wheeler is used for own purposes, then he or she will be considered for APL, so also the government employees who pay income tax."

To a query, the minister clarified that with the government employees - temporary and permanent - earning not less than Rs 20,000 per month, they invariably fall under APL. The proposals will be placed before the next Cabinet meeting, he added.  That apart, it has been decided to increase the profit margin for fair price shops from existing 75 paisa to Rs two per litre of kerosene. The profit margin on salt and palm oil will also be hiked.   "It is to ensure that the ration shops will not suffer loss and the benefits reach the people without any foul play," said Khader.

On the ’coupon system’, Minister Khader said, the system launched on a pilot basis at select places has yielded good results. It was experimented at Kinya village near Ullal and at Udupi and the results were encouraging. The system will be launched in BBMP, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike limits next month. To ensure that nothing goes haywire, vigilance committees headed by corporators will be formed at ward-level and MLAs in the next level, the minister explained. The officers will look into the complaints at taluk and village-level. The coupons will be distributed as per a time frame.

To encourage the usage of the same, an incentive of Rs two will be provided per person in the household availing the benefits, he added.  He said that it is also being considered to bring the ration cards under Sakala in order to prevent misuse of ration cards. While IVR, Interactive Voice Response, is another system in the offing, where ration card holders will get to know about their quota of essential commodities by dialling 1614. Distribution of double fortified salt and season wise pulses are also in the offing, the minister said.