The Food and Civil Supplies Department of Gujarat launched a campaign to detect fake ration cards on July 1 this year. Within 40 days, 3.55 lakh fake ration cards were detected, more than the number unearthed in the past decade. But this is just the tip of the proverbial ice berg, a mere 3 per cent of the 1.24 crore fake ration cards the government estimates are in use in the state.
Encouraged by this success, the Principal Secretary of the Department, Rajesh Kishore, has initiated a massive drive to detect fake ration cards in Ahmedabad city. Sixteen teams will fan out in the city’s seven zones to put an end to the racket. Already, since the start of the state-wide campaign, 35,000 bogus ration cards have been found in Ahmedabad. Again, this is less than 3 per cent of the total number in Ahmedabad. The city has 11 lakh ration card-holders.
Kishore spells out the strategy his Department has adopted. “We are concentrating on the system. Fair Price Shops are the main contacts of operators as they cannot act without the knowledge of the shops,” he points out. Initially, FPS owners were warned. This was followed by random checks of shop records.
For Ahmedabad, which has 16,000 FPS, the Department has worked out a concentrated campaign. Instead of having a scattered operation with limited resources, it has been decided to pool all resources and have a full-throttle operation in one city. For impact in terms of success and number, Ahmedabad is the first choice – to be followed by Surat.
Generally, about 30,000
bogus cards are detected
every year. But this
year, 4.23 lakh bogus
cards have been detected in
Gujarat since April 1
Detection of fake ration cards is an on-going operation of the Department but the intensified drive has made the difference. Generally, about 30,000 fake cards are detected every year. This year, 4.23 have been detected in the state since April 1. In terms of savings, the amount would run into crores of rupees. Kishore also points out that elimination of the fake cards from the system would help the government’s endeavour to reach food grains to those millions in dire need of subsidized food and fuel. At present, there is a shortage but, if the fake cards are weeded out, the supply would be able to meet the real demand.
Kerosene is the most misused, says Kishore. The free sale price is around Rs 40 per litre while the FPS price is around Rs 9.50. The entire subsidy is borne by the Central government. A card with up to three family members gets 5 litres per month while others get 10. The kerosene is meant only for fuel and lighting. To prevent misuse of FPS kerosene by LPG customers, the Department has asked all gas dealers to stamp ration cards of LPG customers. The process is still on.
In the case of food grains, both the state and Centre have a stake. Last year, the Food Corporation of India price of wheat was Rs 10 per kg. There were handling charges. However, the Centre offered wheat at Rs 5 a kg after subsidy of more than Rs 5 per kg. The state then gave a further subsidy of 50 per cent and wheat was provided at Rs 2 a kg. Under the BPL (Below Poverty Line) scheme, wheat is provided at Rs 9 a kg while the Antyodaya scheme has a quota of 19 kg. “But wheat and other food grains with subsidy of more than 75 per cent go straight to the doors of flour mills instead of the doors of the poor,” says Kishore.
Owing to the scale of subsidy, there is temptation to misuse the Public Distribution System and many people are willing to be part of the racket. But, under the law, only licence-holders can be booked. Individuals have to be booked under the Indian Penal Code. The solution is to have photo ration cards, Smart Cards and online information about godowns, FPS and ration card-holders, according to Kishore. However, all this requires elaborate ground work. Maharashtra and Kerala have invited tenders for making the PDS system online. Chhattisgarh has connected godowns with FPS. A lot remains to be done to make the system foolproof but Kishore is sure that, with the help of technology, the solution will soon be in place.
