Guwahati: States and union territories cancelled around 4.28 crore fraudulent ration cards during the 2014-21 period. Parliament was informed on Friday.
Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that the state governments have operational responsibility for the public distribution system under the food law.
Identification of eligible beneficiaries/households under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), issuing of ration cards based on eligibility, and distribution of food grains to them from ration shops are among the tasks.
Following thorough verification, state/UT administrations examine their lists of ration cardholders on a regular basis under the NFSA to weed out potentially ineligible, duplicate, or counterfeit ration cards from their respective systems.
“Accordingly, between 2014 and 2021, the States/UTs have reported cancelling around 4.28 crore fake ration cards,” Choubey added.
According to reports, Uttar Pradesh has 1,70,75,301 bogus ration cards removed, followed by Maharashtra (41,65,552), West Bengal (41,09,873), Madhya Pradesh (23,53,760), Rajasthan (22,66,485), and Karnataka (21,54,193).
Meanwhile, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh 18,73,325 and 12,21,283 cards were removed, respectively.
Furthermore, during this time, Chhattisgarh deleted 13,57,677 cards.