4,000 bogus BPL cards cancelled in Kodagu

MADIKERI: More than 4,000 ineligible below poverty line (BPL) cards have been cancelled in Kodagu district. As the state government is planning to extend guarantees based on the BPL cards, the authorities are focusing on weeding out bogus cards.
The food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department has cancelled priority ration cards (BPL cards) which were obtained by ineligible people through fraudulent means. According to officials, a total of 4,651 ineligible ration cards were found in three taluks of the district. Out of them, 1,221 bogus cards were found in Madikeri taluk, 1,968 in Somwarpet taluk and 1,462 in Virajpet taluk.
Besides cancelling the bogus cards, the authorities have initiated disciplinary action against those persons who obtained the cards by fraudulent means and imposed fine on them. A total penalty of Rs 7,77,904 was recovered from the ineligibles, explained Kumuda, joint director of food and civil supplies, Kodagu.
It was a few months ago when the department conducted an evaluation of the cardholders, officials noticed that many were using the cards by providing wrong information to them. Such cases were scrutinised and the ineligible ones were identified and their cards have now been converted to above poverty line (APL) cards, the officials explained.
There were cases of people in government service using BPL card while some owned more than three hectares of land. These cases surfaced during verifications, the officials stated.
Currently 1,42,716 families in the district have ration cards. There are 22 fair price shops in urban areas and 252 in rural areas of the district.