MLAs raises concern over undeserving persons getting ration
NAVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: The MLAs cutting across the party lines raised concern over excluding the genuine beneficiaries from ration card while undeserving beneficiaries getting ration, prompting the government to put hold a general administration department order for verifying beneficiaries under the public distribution system.
The issue cropped up when NC MLA Mir Saifullah during his query on providing ration alleged people with influence are getting their names included in the list of beneficiaries from ration while the name of deserving beneficiaries are being excluded and the matter is not specific to a particular area while it is the concern from many areas.
Intervening, speaker Abdul Rahim Rather asked the member to provide the list where undeserving beneficiaries have been included.
Senior Congress leader and MLA GA Mir alleged that the Consumer Affairs department was infective in the last seven odd years and when the Omar led government was formed general administration department overnight ordered verification of beneficiaries. Sajjad Gani Lone urged members not to politicize the issue.
In another question NC MLA Ajaz Ahmad Jan also alleged that there was a huge scandal in distribution of ration to the public. Further he said, “Many genuine beneficiaries’ names were excluded from the list. A judicial probe must be ordered to find the truth”.
He further alleged that employees of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs have amassed huge wealth. His remarks were supported by BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa.
Intervening, the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Satish Sharma assured the House that the order issued by the GAD for verification of beneficiaries shall be put on hold. “We will suspend the order issued by the general administration department for beneficiary verification,” Sharma told the House.
Earlier he said that the government intends to make all endeavours to eliminate bogus and ineligible ration cards as a continuous process.
He informed the House that the General Administration Department has ordered a verification of beneficiaries to make the PDS database clean and credible. He added that the Government of lndia has advised the States/UTs to undertake proper verification and remove undeserving beneficiaries from the ration cards from time to time
The Minister said that the process of verification has been ordered to include and retain genuine beneficiaries under PDS and weed the undeserving beneficiaries so as to meet the requirements of Targeted Public Distribution System. He said that every AAY household receives 35 Kg of food grains every month while every PHH beneficiary receives 5Kg of food grains every month, free of cost, under the ambitious National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The Minister assured the House that the order issued by the GAD for verification of beneficiaries shall be put on hold.
