Cuttack, Aug. 20: The municipal corporation and civil supplies department have started a fresh survey to identify beneficiaries of new digitised ration cards under the National Food Security Act.
The officials have formed a review committee to scrutinise the available data. The fresh assessment comes after severe discrepancies were detected during the earlier preparation of draft priority list of eligible beneficiaries.
According to available information, many eligible people have been put on 'suspected list', while the names of some beneficiaries have been included in wards other than their actual locality.
Booth-level teachers, anganwadi workers and community officers have now started household survey to verify the data supplied by applicants in all the 59 wards, said municipal commissioner Gyana Das.
"Our focus is to eliminate ineligible beneficiaries from the list," Das said adding that digitised ration cards would be issued after elimination of fake names.
"There have been irregularities in the preparation of the list and many people with poor financial backgrounds have not been included as their names figure in suspected list," said Sanjay Baral, councillor of ward No. 56.
Baral cited an instance of Nabakishore Nayak, who ekes out a living by selling eggs at Balikuda. But his name figures in the suspected list as he has been mentioned as a government employee. Another widow and a barber at Kazipatna under ward No. 56 have been excluded as they have been assessed as an income tax payee, Baral said.
At a special council meeting of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation held on Tuesday, the councillors cutting across party lines had expressed concern over irregularities in the preparation of the draft priority list.
The councillors alleged that there was resentment among people over faulty assessment, clerical and typing errors and change of name and addresses and non-issuance of acknowledgement slips.
According to available statistics, as many as 4.18 lakh people in Cuttack have enrolled themselves against the target population of 3.13 lakh to get new ration cards under the National Food Security Act. So far, the names of 2,72 lakh people figure in the draft priority list as eligible to get new ration cards as they have fulfilled the prescribed criteria under the Act in September.
According to the government guidelines, officials, pensioners with a monthly income of Rs 15,000 or more, owner of four-wheelers or those having more than two three-wheelers, income tax assesses, people enjoying more than two kilowatt electricity supply to their houses are not eligible under the Food Security Act.
Landless families, widow pensioners, physically challenged persons will be automatically included and will be entitled to get a five kilogram of food grain (wheat or rice) every month.
"The final list will be published by September 1," said Amar Mohapatra, civil supplies officer, Cuttack.
