Over 2.48 cr bogus ration cards deleted till Mar

"As many as 26 states/Union Territory governments have reported by March 31, 2012 deletion of 248.05 lakh (2.48 crore) bogus/ineligible ration cards," Food and Consumer Affairs minister K V Thomas said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The special drive to remove the names of ineligible ration card holders has been initiated by the states/UTs since July 2006, he said. Giving state-wise details, the minister said the highest number of such cases was in West Bengal where as many as 59.67 lakh bogus ration cards have been deleted. This is followed by by Maharashtra (54.07 lakh), Karnataka (30.19 lakh) and Andhra Pradesh (27.27 lakh).

Thomas said no case of bogus Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards in the name of VIPs has come to the notice of the government. He said under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), states/UTs are allocated 35 kg of subsidised foodgrain per family per month for all the accepted number of 6.52 crore BPL families including 2.43 crore Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families.

In a bid to ensure that unauthorised people do not avail benefits of subsidised foodgrains scheme, computerisation of PDS is underway. Some states/UTs like Andhra Pradesh, A & N Islands, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have reported that they have already completed digitisation of ration cards, the minister said.