Bhubaneswar: over four lakh dead and ineligible beneficiaries have been removed from the Public Distribution System in State.
These beneficiaries were removed during the ongoing e-KYC verification process, the State Assembly was informed on Wednesday.
Replying to a query by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, food supplies and consumer welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra said, “During the e-KYC process, names of 3,28,932 deceased persons have been deleted from the ration card database.”
Similarly, 61,882 ineligible beneficiaries of 16,184 ration cards have been identified through field verification and deleted from the database so far, Patra added.
According to data provided by the minister, names of 6,003 ineligible beneficiaries was detected in Nayagarh district, followed by Cuttack (5,154), Balasore (4,748), Mayurbhanj district (4,403), Khurda (3,783), and Puri (3,009).
In another written statement, Patra said, “So far, 2.99 crore beneficiaries have successfully completed the e-KYC of their ration cards, while 32,82,491 are yet to get their e-KYC done.”
Steps are being taken to make e-KYC mandatory during the digitisation of new ration cards, along with cross-examination of new applicants with other exclusion criteria, he said while replying to a question by Congress MLA Sofia Firdous.
“The e-KYC verification of the remaining beneficiaries is expected to be completed by March,” he said.
However, all the existing beneficiaries in the database, irrespective of their e-KYC verification status, are being provided ration,” the minister clarified.
