Garhwal Post Bureau
Haridwar, 18 Aug: In a decisive move under the Dhami government’s ongoing campaign to root out ration cards obtained fraudulently, the Haridwar district administration has cancelled 5,895 bogus ration cards over the past few weeks. District Magistrate Mayur Dixit confirmed that the verification drive is still underway, in accordance with directives issued by the state government. He stated that complaints had surfaced regarding government-allocated ration being diverted and sold in the open market by unscrupulous ration vendors, prompting the administration to initiate a comprehensive verification exercise across the district.
The drive has revealed widespread irregularities, with thousands of ration cards found lacking registered Aadhaar details. Despite issue of notices, many individuals failed to furnish the requisite documentation, leading to the cancellation of their cards. Dixit further admitted discrepancies in the number of units listed on several cards, which raised suspicions about their authenticity. The District Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department has taken stringent action by cancelling white, yellow, and pink ration cards that were being used to illegally procure subsidised and free ration, such as wheat, rice, and pulses, allocated by both the central and state governments.
Deputy Commissioner and District Food Supply Officer (DSO) Tejbal Singh has disclosed that a list comprising 20,000 ration cards has been earmarked for verification, with the process currently in progress. He remarked that a majority of these cards appear to be fraudulent and will be cancelled once the notice period lapses. Singh also mentioned a concerning trend wherein persons from other states are obtaining ration cards in Uttarakhand to exploit not only the subsidised ration but also the benefits of free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Card scheme. The administration has claimed that the verification exercise would continue with full rigour to ensure that welfare schemes reach only genuine beneficiaries.
