Food and Civil Supplies Minister says only 1.02 lakh BPL cards of government employees and taxpayers ‘modified’

Verification was done and ineligible BPL cards were converted into APL category as per the Central government’s guidelines: Muniyappa

Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa on Thursday said that only 1.02 lakh below the poverty line (BPL) cards held by government employees and taxpayers had been “modified” as above the poverty line (APL) cards, contrary to the claims of the Opposition BJP which has launched a protest against what they called “massive cancellation of cards of poor people”.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Muniyappa said except for the 1.02 lakh cards (held by government employees and those who file income tax), all other BPL cards would be reissued if there were any erroneous cancellations.

How many, in what category

“Of the 1.02 lakh, as many as 4,036 are government employees and 98,473 taxpayers, according to HRMS and I-T records. As many as 59,370 BPL card holders have been moved to the APL category and 16,806 BPL cards have been retained. Only 8,647 cards have been cancelled. Verification of 17,710 cards is pending. This includes 17,507 cards held by the 98,473 taxpayers,” the Minister said.

“The Chief Minister has ordered that except for government employees and those who file I-T returns, no other BPL cards should be cancelled. The State government is not cancelling any BPL card. They were temporarily suspended,” the Minister said.

Asserting that re-verification would be done if there are any errors and free rice would be given to eligible families whose BPL cards were cancelled in the next one week, the Minister said people need not submit any applications for getting their cards reissued. “You will get your PDS supply from the same fair price shops after a week,” he said.

“We have learnt through the media that some cards of daily wagers and the poor have been cancelled. This could have happened due to oversight following the misreading of penalty payments attached to PAN cards as I-T returns by the data and technical staff. This confusion is being sorted out and all such suspended BPL cards, except those held by government employees and taxpayers, will be reissued.”

As per Centre’s guidelines

Defending the State government’s move, he said, verification was done and ineligible BPL cards were converted into the APL category as per the Central government’s guidelines.

“The National Food Security Act provides for issuing 75% BPL cards in rural areas and 50% in urban areas. As per this, only 4.01 crore beneficiaries are eligible for BPL benefits in Karnataka. But, the State now has 4.34 crore beneficiaries from 1.24 crore families under the BPL category, which means the State has 65.96% BPL card holders,” he said.

While Kerala has 45.59% BPL families, Tamil Nadu has 48.81%, Telangana 53.93%, Andhra Pradesh 63.79% and Maharashtra has 58.47%. “The State with the second highest economic growth in the country cannot have 65.96% BPL families,” he said.

“While we have stopped the process now, the government will have to go for a scientific review of the ration cards at some point. To prevent mistakes by officials, the local revenue officials should physically verify each BPL card before deciding that it is ineligible. If more than 10 cards are found to be ineligible in any village, the taluk-level officials should verify it,” he siad.

Centre has cancelled 5.8 crore BPL cards

Mr. Muniyappa on Thursday said the Centre had overall cancelled 5.8 crore BPL cards in the country. “What moral right does the BJP has to question us?” he asked.

Stating that the BJP should not politicise all issues, the Minister said there was no dearth of funds for the Anna Bhagya scheme. “Let the BJP first question the Centre,” he said.

Mr. Muniyappa reminded that the food security law was introduced during the Manmohan Singh government in 2013 to protect poor citizens’ interests, which the BJP had then opposed. He criticised the BJP for previously reducing foodgrain allocation from 7 kg to 5 kg per beneficiary during B.S. Yediyurappa’s tenure.

Published - November 21, 2024 10:17 pm IST