Ranchi, June 23: The Jharkhand government is preparing to cancel over 800,000 ration cards. Authorities have identified 802,685 cardholders who have not availed of the Public Distribution System (PDS) for six months to over a year.
The Food Supply Department suspects that many of these cards may be inactive, duplicate, or issued to ineligible individuals. To address this, a comprehensive verification campaign is underway across the state. So far, physical verification has been completed for over 461,000 cardholders. Cards belonging to individuals who cannot be located or who have not benefited from the scheme for an extended period may be revoked.
During the verification process, 21,750 duplicate ration cards and 12,284 suspicious cards have been identified. The highest number of such cases is reported in East Singhbhum, Giridih, and West Singhbhum. The government has also clarified that adding new names to ration cards will now require Aadhaar-based e-KYC and biometric verification. No new names will be added without this verification.
Additionally, individuals who are financially capable but still benefiting from the ration scheme have been warned. Those owning four-wheeled vehicles, land exceeding five acres, or who are income tax payers have been asked to voluntarily surrender their ration cards by June 30. Failure to comply may result in recovery actions if caught during investigations. The government aims to eliminate fake and inactive cards to ensure that genuine beneficiaries receive assistance.
Currently, over 550,000 applications for new ration cards and name additions are pending in the state. The department states that once inactive cards are removed, a significant number of new eligible families will be able to join the ration scheme.
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