BHUBANESWAR: Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Sunday said the state government will continue the e-KYC verification of ration cards till the last application is processed.
The minister said that e-KYC verification of about three-and-half crore people of the state will be conducted. Verification of two crore people has been completed while another 1.5 lakh applications are under process. “This will take another 30-45 days. We expect it to be over by November. Once e-KYC verification is completed, we will come to know how many people have fake ration cards. After cancellation of the ration cards of ineligible persons and cardholders who are no more alive, new ration cards will be issued to all eligible beneficiaries,” Patra said.
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The minister, however, did not say how many applications have been received for new ration cards. The government had informed the Assembly that nearly 10 lakh applications were received till end of August.
The online KYC verification which commenced from August 22 was scheduled to be over by September 25. However, the process has been delayed due to internet connectivity and other technical problems.
In a notification issued by the government, the ration cardholders have been advised to complete their Aadhaar seeding and KYC verification through e-PoS (point of sale) machines at PDS dealers point by September 25, failing which their cards will be rejected.
However, several organisations working on the right to food and nutrition have objected to the deadline fixed by the government and the threat to cancel the cards as they violate the National Food Security Act. Over 3.26 crore people of the state are covered under NFSA.
