Cuttack: After the successful launch of Subhadra Yojana and Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, the Odisha government is all set to distribute new ration cards to eligible beneficiaries as part of its efforts to make the public distribution system (PDS) more effective.
The BDOs, municipal commissioners and executive officers have been asked to generate coloured ration card PDFs from the system (both sides) by April 20 and laminate the same by April 22. The laminated copies of ration cards will be kept with the Block/ULB offices and distributed among beneficiaries by MPs or MLAs and other dignitaries by organising functions.
Meanwhile, the Cuttack administration on Sunday informed that new ration cards are currently being prepared for eligible beneficiaries after verification and field inspection of all applicants. “In this context, e-KYC verification of all family members is mandatory for the preparation of new ration cards. Therefore, all applicants in the district are requested to contact the Inspector of Supplies in their respective block or municipal area and complete the e-KYC verification at the earliest,” it said.
The e-KYC verification process, which lasted over the last few months, handled over 13.86 lakh new applications and removed around 5.2 lakh beneficiaries, including over four lakh deceased and one lakh ineligible card holders.
On Friday, Food Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra had revealed that around 5.9 lakh people, who applied during the previous govt’s tenure were waiting for their ration cards. The ration card portal is now open for public access, allowing eligible citizens to submit their applications, he added.
