Bhubaneswar: Expressing concern over the poor performance of disposal of pending ration card applications, Orissa State Food Commission (OSFC) Wednesday asked all District Magistrates (DMs) to dispose the applications by March end.
OSFC chairperson Ranglal Jamuda has written a letter to all district collectors in this regard. Out of a total of 1,62,196 applications needing disposal during the quarter ending December 2017, only 87,187 applications (53.75 per cent) were disposed of, Jamuda said in his letter, a copy of which is available with Orissa POST.
Out of the applications disposed of, only 12,300 (14.1 per cent) cases were rejected. Thus, around 86 per cent applicants were found eligible to get their ration cards, he said.
“Evidently, more deserving/ vulnerable applicants have either submitted their applications at a belated stage (due to illiteracy and ignorance) or their applications did not attract due attention of BDOs/Executive Officers for the reasons best known to them,” the Chairperson said.
The collectors were asked to issue necessary instructions to the BDOs and executive officers under their jurisdiction to dispose of all such applications pending as on December 31, 2017, by March 2018. The collectors have also been instructed to ensure that all those whose applications are rejected, should be communicated in writing with reasons for rejection.
Similarly, the Commission asked the DMs to ensure distribution of printed ration cards to the beneficiaries included under National Food Security Act (NFSA) by March end. About 87, 259 persons have been found eligible to get ration cards but have not received the same, sources claim.
“People capable of influencing the decision makers have managed to secure ration cards, while a large number of more vulnerable and deserving households are still waiting in the queue for years/months together. Undoubtedly it is a pathetic situation,” read the letter.
The NFSA came into effect from July 2013 and applications for the ration card were invited from January 2015 onwards in the state. The Commission said death cases among the beneficiaries during the year 2016 and 2017 could be more than 8 lakh (assuming at least 2 per cent of population as per 2011 Census).
Interestingly, the family members of many of the dead persons have received financial assistance from the Harischandra Sahayata Yojana/ Maha Prayan Yojana etc through BDOs, EOs, collectors, etc. But, the names of such dead persons have not been deleted from the list of beneficiaries, Jamuda pointed out. “Since a large number of death cases are yet to be taken into account, you should impress upon all your colleagues in field to take up this assignment more seriously. In all fairness the BDOs/ Eos, who have clearly demonstrated their misconduct should be charge-sheeted for their lapses,” read the letter to the collectors. The OSFC further instructed the collectors to submit the action taken and achievement report by April 20.
PNN