Dhubri, April 30: The government’s policy for renewing ration cards by filling up a form printed in English has caused deep resentment among the people of lower Assam.

Residents also complained about other particulars of the four-page form. They said certain queries, such as details of the spouse’s parents and their income, were difficult to fill up.

Also, the food and civil supplies department has made it mandatory to submit photo copies of old ration cards, voter list of 2010 (where their name appeared), census paper and birth certificates for minors below 10 years of age.

Former secretary of Asam Sahitya Sabha’sDhubri unit, Udayan Chakraborty, criticised the government for not printing the form in Assamese saying it was a dishonour to the state language.

Secretary of Dhubri Hind Yuvak Sangha, Lakhi Narayan Razak, said most of the people residing in slums were not literate enough to fill up the lengthy form.

“The form should have been printed in Assamese and English because Assamese is the state language. English should have be given as an option but leaving no option other than English has left the poor and illiterate people bewildered,” Razak said.

Razak said the process of renewing ration cards could have been smoother if officials followed the method of collecting census data, by visiting house to house.

Manojit Paul, a resident of Dhubri, alleged that touts were taking advantage of this situation by taking money and filling up the form.

A retired government employee of Dhubri, Promod Chandra Sarkar, alleged that forms were being received without giving any serial numbers or acknowledgement forms. “Officials receiving the forms are neither maintaining a register nor segregating forms ward-wise, so there is every possibility of loss and mix-up of forms,” Sarkar said.

Residents also alleged that two types of forms were being distributed — a one-page form for panchayat areas and a four-page from for urban areas. People residing in urban areas were miffed at this discrimination.

The president of Dhubri Fair Price Shops’ Association, Mohibul Khandakar, also opined that it would have been better if data had been collected using the census model and residents would not have been harassed. “Only 50 per cent of work for ration cards has been completed so far in urban areas and it will take more time owing to the lengthy process of filling up the form,” Khandakar added.

Dhubri inspector of food and civil supplies Bipul Talukdar said they could not make any comment as the state government was only implementing the Supreme Court’s order on renewal of ration cards.

“In the meantime, work on panchayat-level ration cards in Dhubri district has almost been completed, but a few more days will be required to complete the work in urban areas,” Talukdar added.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Bongaigaon deputy commissioner Santanu P. Gutmare said the project was being implemented according to the Supreme Court’s order in September 2011.

“After every 5 years, ration cards should be issued afresh and this is being done here. No new ration (card) is being made this time. Work at the panchayat level is almost complete,” Gutmare added.