Some activists have complained that the State government has stopped accepting applications for below-poverty-line ration cards, and have urged the government to allow fresh applications.
“It is causing great inconvenience to farmers who are dependent on the cards for other schemes,’‘ Sidagouda Modagi, Bharatiya Krishik Samaj leader, said. “For example, a farmer may be eligible for a free irrigation pump set, but he will not be able to use it as he can not get a fresh BPL card,’‘ he said. We have written to the government to restart the issue of new BPL cards. The government should realise that being poor is a dynamic phenomenon. A family that is well-to-do today, may slip into poverty because the breadwinner lost his job or a flood destroyed their crop. Hence, it is important to keep the window of applying for BPL cards should be kept open always, he said.
“We have also asked the government to take strict action against ineligible beneficiaries. When we went to meet officials in Dharwad district, an officer said that they had found a joint family with 16 cards. We asked them to cancel all of them except one,’‘ Mr. Modagi said. A group of activists, including farmers and DSS members have sent a letter to the government asking it to accept applications for fresh BPL cards.
“The State has around 1.2 crore BPL cards (at one card per family unit of five persons), benefiting around 4.5 crore persons. This is around 62% of the population, which is nearly three times the official BPL line of 21% of the population. This means that the state government has to spend twice the amount of money, for BPL food schemes, over and above the funds received from the centre,’‘ said a senior officer.
“The issue has been complicated after the implementation of the government guarantees. We have had a flood of applications since March. For example, an average of 70,000 applications have been received every month. This rose to one lakh in October. That is why the process has been suspended,’‘ the officer said.
“We have not stopped accepting applications, but have only paused the process for some time, K.H. Muniyappa, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies said. “We need to decide on the distribution of around 2,95,200 pending applications. Once they are processed, we will accept more,’‘ he said. He said that the government was looking at two or three issues related to fresh registrations.
“There are suggestions that the government can allow for registration of BPL cards that can be used for availing the four government guarantees other than food grains. There is also a move to stop the issue of more than one BPL card per family. We have received complaints that some families are filing split applications to increase the number of beneficiaries and get multiple cards and benefits. We are looking into all these issues,’‘ he said.
“We are focusing on the pending applications of 2.95 lakh as of now. Around 2.95 Lakh new applications are pending since March 2023. The government has issued an order to process the pending applications. Food inspectors across the State are issuing new ration cards if they are eligible as per the exclusion-inclusion criteria. But as of now, no new applications can be submitted,’‘ M. Kanagavalli, Commissioner, of food and civil supplies said.
