Hyderabad, Sept. 28: The West Bengal Directorate of Rationing has deactivated 11.12 lakh ration cards since April 1, according to the State Food and Supplies Department.
Department sources said the deactivation process gained momentum in June after the new state government took charge. Although the figures cover the period since April, the large-scale exercise reportedly began in June.
Deceased Beneficiaries Account for Most Deactivated Cards
The list of voters deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has helped identify ration cards for possible deactivation. These include deceased, duplicate and shifted voters.
However, officials said most of the 11.12 lakh deactivated cards belonged to deceased individuals. Rationing officers are still cross-checking records of other deceased voters before recommending further deactivations.
A department official said the verification process had slowed the exercise. After completing the deactivation of cards belonging to deceased beneficiaries, authorities plan to examine cases involving people whose names were deleted for other reasons.
The department is also focusing on alleged cases involving illegal immigrants who reportedly obtained voter registration using fake Indian identity documents.
Officials said the exercise aims to ensure that food subsidies reach genuine beneficiaries. It is also intended to prevent the misuse of ration cards belonging to deceased individuals.
A department official cited the previous multi-crore public distribution system (PDS) scam in West Bengal, in which the former state Food and Supplies Minister was arrested. According to the official, ration supplies had been drawn using deceased persons’ cards and allegedly sold in the market at higher prices.
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