Mangalore, October 20: Food and Civil Supplies Department will start receiving applications for new ration cards (above poverty line - APL) from November 1.
In a media release issued here the Department has stated that October 20 is the last date for temporary BPL card holders to submit their bio-metric details and family photos. The ministry of Food and Civil Supplies led by D N Jeevaraj has no plans to extend the deadline further. So, there will be no hurdles for receiving fresh applications, it said.
Meanwhile, Mr Jeevaraj has directed the officials to issue new ration cards, both APL and BPL, to all the applicants before November 15.
Speaking to media persons in Bangalore he said about 52 lakh bogus ration cards, a majority of them belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category, had been weeded out, after putting the bio-metric system in place.
Of an estimated 58 lakh temporary BPL card holders, about 38 lakh had submitted their biometric details, seeking permanent cards. This, in other words, means that the remaining 20 lakh temporary BPL cards holders may not actually exist. This is over and above the 32 lakh bogus cards the department weeded out about six months ago. Currently, there are 99.58 lakh BPL cards and 39.15 lakh APL cards in the State, he said.
The department plans to install “point-of-sale” machines at all 20,499 fair price shops across the State by March next year to prevent the diversion of food grains at the fair price shop level, he said.
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