early times report
Jammu, Jan 17: Despite claims of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD) of speeding up ration card computerisation in Jammu and Kashmir, only 66 per cent of people getting ration through Public Distribution System (PDS) have been issued with new cards. Due to delay in completing the process, thousands of fake card holders are still drawing food grains.
Pertinent to mention, nearly three lakh families are waiting for new ration cards so that they could be included into PDS. At the moment due to shortage of ration, government is diverting ration from Above Poverty Line (APL) category to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, particularly living in rural and far-flung areas of the state.
Sources said that while process has almost been completed in other parts of the state, in Jammu exposure of hundreds of bogus cards has slowed down the initiative of government to bring transparency in PDS system, one of the worst corruption ridden system in J&K. Officials said that it has also hit the families seeking bifurcation of their cards to bring them in ambit of PDS.
Apart from photograph of head of the family, each card has a separate six digit number and the same will also be mentioned in two copies of month-wise coupons attached in the ration card. "Delay is mainly in Jammu while in other parts of the state, process has been completed to come extent. I have asked the officials to complete the process on fast track basis", said CAPD Minister Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan.
Data says that three lakh families are without ration cards in J&K and at present government is providing ration to 19.71 lakh families as per as 2001 census.
However, as per census 2011, the total population of the state is 125.48 lakh souls, which works out 22.73 lakh families at an average size of 5.52 persons per family. |
