New Ration Cards to be given by April End: Etela

Making it clear that new ration cards will be given to the beneficiaries before April 31 this year, the Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Etela Rajender has said 77,100 new ration cards were given after examining 89,713 applications, and another 1.66 lakh applications will be examined for giving new ration cards soon.

Replying to the questions raised by MIM members Akbaruddin Owaisi, Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, Mohd Moazam Khan, Jaffar Hussain, Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri, Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala and Kauar Moinuddin in the Legislative Assembly on Sunday, Etela said that 4,06,397 bogus cards were weeded out in GHMC areas of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts. Informing that the government was implementing Food Security Scheme from 2015 onwards, the Minister said that the government should not be like a Marwari Shop but it should be in a position to address the grievances of the people. The government was giving ration to 82.64 lakh people across the state. The government was filing cases against the persons transporting the ration rice illegally. The government filed 175 criminal cases and invoked PD Act against 8 persons, he added.

The MIM members asked the Minister whether it was a fact that new white ration cards to below poverty line families were not being provided for the last two years. Whether it was also a fact that thousands of Food Security Cards were cancelled in the name of bogus cards; if so, the district wise details thereof; whether it was a fact that thousands of applications received for fresh white ration cards in all 31 districts of Telangana state, if so, the total number of fresh applications received, number of applications found to be eligible and number of fresh cards issued to the eligible families; the district wise details thereof. (NSS)