K. Rameshwarappa, Deputy Director, Food and Civil Supplies, has warned of criminal action against officials who fail to encourage old ration card holders to renew the cards by September 5.
Addressing a meeting of panchayat development officers, village accountants and fair price shop owners here on Tuesday, he said renewal of old cards would help identify bogus ones and those possessed by government employees or others who were well off.
Mr. Rameshwarappa said that some fair price shop owners were refusing to pressure people having old ration cards to renew it.
“This proves that they [owners] had misused the foodgrains and kerosene given under the public distribution system. The department has decided to file criminal cases against those who fail to renew old cards or recommend cancellation of the old cards by September 5,” he said. r. Rameshwarappa said that there were over 18,200 old cards which were yet to be renewed. But many fair price shops had shown on record that foodgrains were being distributed to people having ration cards issued in the last five years, he said.
“How can you distribute foodgrains and kerosene to them if they do not renew ration cards,” he asked. Mr. Rameshwarappa said that the department had collected information on eligible beneficiaries from Regional Transport Offices and the Chamundeshwari Electricity Corporation. The ration cards of ineligible people would either be cancelled or shifted from the below poverty line category to the above poverty line category. Criminal cases would be lodged against government employees who did not surrender their BPL cards.
Mr. Rameshwarappa said that those who possess both BPL and APL cards must surrender either of them based on their eligibility.
