Mysuru: Rs 1 crore collected as penalty from ration card holders for misuse

MYSURU: The department of food and civil supplies cancelled as many as 11,123 Priority Households (BPL) and Antyodaya cards and collected Rs 1 crore as penalty from the card holders for misusing the cards. The penalty is calculated based on the subsidy amount utilised by the families every month by availing the free/ subsidised grains and other items distributed in the fair price shops.
According to the authorities, the drive was carried out in the district over a period of time and the data was collected from the IT department, HRMS and e-governance department of the state government and RTO among others.
In total, 581 Antyodaya cards and 10,542 BPL cards have been cancelled in the district. “We are carrying out a drive against the misuse of these cards for some time,” explained officials from the department. “The drive is a continuous process. The cancelled cards are replaced with the APL cards for the beneficiaries” informed officials.
In Mysuru district, 6,57,037 BPL, and 50,523 Antyodaya cards have been distributed by the department, which is used to draw grains from the fair price shops. These cards are also used to avail various schemes of the state government, including free health care.
Following reports that these cards are misused by those who fall under the APL category, the department of food and civil supplies is carrying out a drive to cancel the BPL cards from the ineligible beneficiaries.
Kumuda, joint director, department of food and civil supplies informed that the penalty is collected based on the subsidy amount utilised through a card. She also informed that no criminal cases are registered.