One-month deadline set to weed out bogus ration cards

With prices of essential commodities, particularly rice and pulses, on the rise, Karnataka government today cracked the whip, setting a one-month deadline for weeding out bogus ration cards.

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa convened a meeting of associations of fair price shops and officials of food department, and conveyed the government’s concern over the number of bogus cards, which are believed to be in lakhs.

“Bogus ration cards are in lakhs and the public distribution system is being misused, resulting in loss of lakhs for rupees for the government. Officials have been given one month to take action”, Yeddyurappa said.

If things don’t improve, a meeting of deputy commissioners of districts would be convened in the first week of next month to discuss future course of action.

Last week, addressing the state executive committee meeting of BJP here, Yeddyurappa had attacked fair price shops for “cheating”, warning that the government would not hesitate to wind up their operations and think in terms of government-run alternative mechanism of PDS.

Food minister H Halappa said stern direction has been issued to see that “diversion” (of rice and foodgrains supplied through PDS) does not take place and a campaign would be conducted jointly by fair price shops and food department officials to weed out ineligible card holders.