Kolkata, June 08: The West Bengal government is planning to introduce hi-tech ration cards to prevent circulation of fake ones, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said today.
“These cards will be difficult to duplicate. State IT department has agreed to help in its introduction,” Dasgupta told reporters after attending a meeting on prevention of fake ration cards.
He said the government will submit this plan to the Calcutta High Court which had wanted to know its plans in preventing the circulation of fake ration cards.
There are 2.64 crore BPL and over six crore APL cardholders in the state, he said.
Dasgupta, who attended a meeting of the Working Group on Agricultural Production in Chandigarh yesterday, said West Bengal would require Rs 12,328 crore over the next five years to increase agricultural production.
–Agencies