PANAJI
Nearly 11,000 families in Goa holding the 'below poverty line' (BPL) category ration cards have surrendered them through mamlatdar offices in all talukas over the last two-and-half months since the Civil Supplies Department launched its drive to implement the Rs 50,000 per annum family income criteria.
Of these, around 2,000 families have upgraded their ration cards from the BPL to the 'above poverty line' category during the same period.
Only families whose annual income is under the Rs 50,000 limit will henceforth be eligible for the BPL ration card, according to the department. Also, for holding an APL card, the family's annual income should not exceed Rs 5 lakh.
In March this year, Civil Supplies Director Gopal Parsekar had issued a public notice threatening "action" against those holding ration cards beyond their eligibility with respect to the annual income criteria.
In the notice, Parskar had said, families whose annual income exceeds Rs 5 lakh, have to surrender their ration cards failing which action will be initiated against them by the department.
The notice by Parsekar had said that families on a large scale were holding Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) Ration Cards (pink in colour), Priority Household (PHH) Ration Cards (Pink in Colour) and Above Poverty Line (APL) Ration Cards (Yellow in colour), despite being "ineligible as per the guidelines".
Families whose annual income is above Rs 50,000 are ineligible for the AAY and PHH ration cards and if annual income is above Rs 5 lakh, they are ineligible for the APL ration card, the notice by Parsekar had said.
It advised those families holding AAY and PHH ration cards but did not fit in the below Rs 50,000 per annum income bracket to file 'Departmental Form C' and convert them to APL cards.
The move to ask the public to surrender their APL ration cards if annual income is above Rs 5 lakh has drawn criticism from some quarters as apart from the eligibility for monthly rations through the PDS system, they also served as family identity cards and a document of residence and address proof.
However, to overcome this impediment, the State government is considering a proposal to issue these ration-ineligible families a 'green card' just as an identity document without any entitlement to ration.
According to Parsekar, the file moving the proposal is awaiting government approval.
"As soon as the government clears the proposal we will publicise it and begin the process of issuing green cards," Parsekar said.
Meanwhile, a 'State level Steering Committee' headed by Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel is mandated to monitor distribution of fortified rice under the TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System).
The panel will also monitor other welfare schemes including ICDS (mid-day meal) and PM-POSHAN.
The panel which also has Parsekar in it as member-secretary besides all other Secretaries of linked departments such as Civil Supplies, Health, Women and Child, Food and Drugs Administration and Education, is required to meet once every three months.
