Odisha Govt Removes Names Of 3.28 Lakh Deceased From Ration Card List: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has so far cancelled over 3.28 lakh ration cards in the name of deceased persons during e-KYC verification, the state Assembly was informed on Wednesday.

Sharing this information in the House on Wednesday, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said these names have been deleted from the database of the Public Distribution System (PDS).

While answering a question, the Minister stated that a total of 3,28,932 ghost beneficiaries were availing ration card benefits. Their names were detected during the e-KYC verification and names struck off from the PDS database.

Keonjhar had the maximum number of 38,550 fake beneficiaries, followed by Ganjam (25,789), Mayurbhanj (23,799) and Rayagada (22,411), he said.

Highlighting the government’s effort to remove unwanted beneficiaries from food security coverage list and make the ration card database more transparent, Patra said altogether 2,99,50,890 PDS beneficiaries have completed e-KYC process. Of these, 2,98,14,921 completed the verification within the state while 1,35,899 did it outside Odisha.

Furnishing data of ration card holders who completed the e-KYC in the State and dead beneficiaries, Patra said the state government has implemented the Aadhaar-based e-KYC verification process for the year 2024-25.

Out of the total 3,36,35,918 PDS beneficiaries in the state, verification has been completed for 2,99,50,890 individuals. Details of deceased beneficiaries identified during the verification process, have been removed from the ration card database. Slots vacated will be allocated to eligible applicants to ensure food security for all deserving families, the Minister said.

The deadline for verification of ration cards was initially fixed at February 15, but later extended to March 31, 2025 due to internet connectivity issues.