Criminal action ordered against 67 tainted NFSA card holders

After cancelling ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of as many as 67 'visibly rich' persons, including that of nine present and two former corporators of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), the Cuttack Collector today directed all nodal officers of the district to initiate exemplary action against all of them, irrespective of their status.
Sources said most of these tainted persons are either BJD workers or are known sympathisers of the ruling party and the list is still counting as special squads of the food and civil supply department are now vetting the economic status of each card holder thoroughly.

While 46 of these card holders belong to Cuttack city alone, remaining 21 are from elsewhere in the district.
"The BDOs in rural areas, the executive officers in NACs and municipalities and the Commissioner in CMC are acting as nodal officers under the NFSA to disburse subsidised food grains to the beneficiaries and these nodal officers have been directed to file FIRs in their respective police stations against the illegitimate card holders", informed the district civil supply officer Amar Chandra Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress in the city has expressed displeasure over police inaction against former city mayor and BJD leader Anita Behera against whom the party had lodged an FIR at Purighat police station here for deceitfully obtaining a ration card in her name. Behera was forced to resign as city mayor on Tuesday after widespread criticism.

Both Congress and BJP in the city had been alleging for over a month now that genuine beneficiaries are left out from ration card list while well-heeled BJD leaders and workers have managed to obtain the cards in their names.
Over 1.60 lakh people in the city had applied for getting ration cards but nearly a lakh of them were denied the facility.