DEHRADUN: Nearly 3.6 lakh Uttarakhand residents, who held ration cards but gradually saw their financial condition improve, have voluntarily given up their beneficiary status.
In April, the state department of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs started a drive called “Apaatra ko na – Paatra ko Haan” (no to the ineligible and yes to the eligible), appealing to people to consider giving up their cards if they no longer needed it and had become ineligible, so the benefits could go to someone in need.
From May this year to June 30, the department received 91,577 cards that served 3,59,178 beneficiaries of three schemes: the Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) started by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2000, the central government’s ‘Primary Household Yojna’ and the ‘State Food Yojana’ of Uttarakhand.
Food and civil supplies minister Rekha Arya told TOI, “We decided to conduct this campaign solely on moral grounds, when we received complaints on several public forums and helpline numbers that ineligible persons were holding ration cards they did not need anymore. The real success of this programme will be achieved when those in need get the benefits that have been given up.”
Sumana Devi, a resident of Vikas Nagar in Dehradun, added, “It’s certainly a good decision. We know of families where all five members have surrendered their cards, so the benefits can be availed by poor families. In fact, of late, some ration card holders had even started buying subsidised items and selling them in shops to make a profit.”
Officials of the food and civil supplies department said that a maximum of 2,28,880 beneficiaries gave up a total of 56,788 Primary Household (PHH) Scheme cards. Also, 98,887 beneficiaries of the State Food Yojana (SFY) gave up 7,899 ration cards.
Under the SFY, one card can be used to avail 7.5 kg rice monthly for families earning below Rs 5 lakh per year. Similarly, 31,411 of the AAY, which provides 21.7 kg rice and 13.3 kg wheat to beneficiaries monthly, surrendered 7,899 ration cards. AAY is one of the oldest schemes for the poor in the country and all those that fall under the below poverty line (BPL) category can avail it.
