Ration card issues discussed at TP general meet

Ration card issues discussed at TP general meet

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 30, 2012: The Taluk Panchayath (TP) held its general meeting today, during which the chief topic of discussion was discrepancies in the distribution of ration cards.

Some TP members pointed out that action has not yet been taken against ration shops that are unnecessarily harassing members of the public and some others complained that the authorities have cancelled the ration cards of some families for no reason.

The tahsildar said that the TP has already issued notices to errant ration shops and, in case of further complaints, these ration shops will lose their licenses.

A member of the TP said that APL card holders are being given only 5kgs of rice instead of the usual 10kgs they should be rightfully given. In response, the representatives of the concerned department said that rice is distributed among APL card holders as per government orders. They also said that certain names were struck off the list owing to a government notification directing the TP to update details of ration cards. The TP had just struck off the names of those who failed to produce the required documents.

Speaking on the occasion, MLA U. T. Khader demanded to know why this government notification was not made public. He also alleged that TP officials have not notified the public regarding latest developments. In response, TP Panchayath Bhavya Gangadhara Poojary directed the officials concerned to publish the public government notifications in newspapers.

TP members also raised the issue of raising interest rate of loans for Sthree Shakti Sanghas to 10 – 12 percent in spite of the state government stating that loans will be provided at 4 percent interest in the state budget. In response, the concerned official said that the government has not yet issued a circular directing them to give loans at lower rates of interest.