AGARTALA, Feb 10 - The Tripura government has cancelled 67,000 fake ration cards involving 2.81 lakh people, according to Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
�After the BJP government came to power in March 2018, over 67,000 fake ration cards were revoked. These forged ration cards were issued during the previous (Left Front) government,� the Chief Minister said at an official function on Sunday night.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Monoj Kanti Deb said: �After the computerisation of the Public Distribution System (PDS), over 67,000 fake ration cards were identified. Around 2,81,000 people were involved with these bogus ration cards.�
He said that of the 2,81,000 people involved with the false ration cards, a large number might be �Bangladeshi nationals�. �Despite thorough inquiry, there was no trace of the majority of 2,81,000 people against whom various commodities were issued through the PDS,� the minister said.
He said the government recently started supply of pulses (Masoor Dal) through the PDS at a much discounted rate. Earlier, rice, flour, sugar, salt and kerosene were being distributed though the PDS at an inexpensive rate.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Secretary Debasis Basu said, �With Aadhaar number seeding, the �End to End Computerisation of PDS Operation Scheme� was completed in Tripura in 2018. Tripura is the first state in the North East to complete the digitalisation of the entire system of the PDS. The Central government has also appreciated the achievement of the Tripura government in completion of the digitalisation.�
He said Tripura currently has 9,08,212 ration cards involving 36,86,216 people under 18,010 ration shops, and added that under the National Food Security Act, 2013, and the Supreme Court�s direction, computerisation of the entire PDS process is mandatory.
�As part of the system, all food offices, godowns, fair price shops and related systems have been digitalised by utilising the Common Application Software developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,� he added. � IANS
