Garhwa: In Banshidhar Nagar sub-division of Garhwa district, government pensioners and the deceased were ‘availing’ ration through the public distribution system (PDS).
For instance, Santosh Bandhari from Koljhiki panchayat, who had died years ago, was allegedly procuring ration meant for BPL people from PDS dealer Arti Mahila Vikas Samiti. Similarly, Sudarshan Ram, a government pensioner, was drawing ration meant for the underprivileged.
Savita Devi, the mukhiya of Koljhiki panchayat, said, “There are several such cases. The deserving persons are being ignored and the well-off are being provided ration by PDS dealers.”
A local PDS dealer, Vinod Chandravanshi, said: “Such cases wherein the rich are getting PDS benefits have come to light in a number of places.”
Banshidhar Nagar SDM Jaiwardhan Kumar said, “The irregularities in the distribution of ration did not come to our notice earlier. But we will soon initiate an investigation and punish the guilty if malpractices are detected.”