Against the backdrop of the Punjab food and civil supplies department ordering a fresh survey of beneficiaries of the Atta-Dal scheme and deciding to issue smart cards while cancelling the existing ones, the State Government on Saturday asserted that only the cards would be replaced and not the beneficiaries.
Allaying the fear arising in the minds of people that Department of Food and Civil Supplies has annulled all the blue cards, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Food Supply Minister Punjab said that "only the cards have been annulled and not the beneficiaries".
Ashu informed that due to the Automation and End to End Computerisation of the food grain distribution process, all the existing cards have been annulled and new Smart Cards would be issued to the eligible beneficiaries.
At present, there are 1.36 crore beneficiaries of the subsidised scheme but the number is expected to fall after the fresh survey gets over.
The Minister informed that food grain distribution is carried out by the department twice a year (six monthly cycles) in the month of March and September. He said that food grains are already being distributed in the March cycle on the old cards but in the September cycle it would be issued on Smart Ration Cards.
He said these smart cards are chip enabled with complete details of identification data of the beneficiary secured in the chip. Hence, the Smart Ration Card holder beneficiaries need not carry identification proofs like Aadhar etc. to the Fair Price Shop in order to collect their share of food grains. Besides this convenience being extended to the beneficiaries , the range of people to be covered under distribution
of subsidised ration has been extended.
Giving details, the Food Supply Minister said that earlier the BPL beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and the other economically weaker beneficiaries identified under State notified norms were being covered under National Food Security Act. But going a step further, now the State Government will not only include all the marginal categories of people belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) but also the families of those suffering from leprosy, acid attack and HIV / AIDS.
The beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana (MGSVY), landless farm laborers, ex-servicemen having annual income up to `60,000 pa (excluding pension), old age pensioners provided their income from all sources does not exceed `60,000 and have no family member to support them, all households headed by a widow or a single woman (unmarried / separated / deserted), beneficiaries of homeless or kucha households etc. are also to be covered under the Smart Ration Card scheme.
Sharing details of the re-verification of the beneficiaries ordered by the department, the Minister said that a constant verification / re-verification is the mandate of National Food security act 2013. It is a dynamic exercise to add and delete eligible or ineligible persons. So, the re-verification will ensure inclusion of all genuine beneficiaries and elimination of the non genuine ones.
Ashu said that number of families / beneficiaries as mandated / allowed by Government of India to Punjab are 1,41,45,000 ie approximately 35.36 lakh families @ 4 members per family bifurcating as 54.7 per cent of rural population 44.8 per cent of urban population (as per 2011 census). Against this, at present number of families covered right now are 35.33 lac families having approximately 1,37,00,003 beneficiaries. So, efforts are afoot to cover more eligible beneficiaries under the NFSA Act.
Appealing the people not to get panicky by the annulment of the cards, Bharat Bhushan Ashu said that the computerisation process it for the betterment of the beneficiaries and will go a long way into elimination of bogus beneficiaries and plugging the diversion of food grains.
