E-KYC of ration cards helped state save Rs 215cr a yr: Min

Bhubaneswar: Deletion of names of ineligible beneficiaries from the National Food Security Act (NFSA) list helped the state save Rs 215 crore annually, food supplies and consumer welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra told the assembly on Monday.Replying to an adjournment motion moved by BJD MLAs Pramila Mallik and Pratap Keshari Deb, the minister said 1.25 lakh ration cardholders were found ineligible — many of them govt employees or taxpayers — during the e-KYC verification. Another 7.72 lakh beneficiaries were found dead during the verification drive that started in Aug 2024.Patra said the previous BJD govt had struck off ration cards of 10.54 lakh families, citing survey findings and political considerations.

After the BJP came to power, those cases were reviewed and all eligible beneficiaries were reinstated.Following the change in govt, 17.38 lakh applications were scrutinised. Of these, 4.96 lakh families (9.83 lakh members) were added under NFSA, while 8.58 lakh applicants were found ineligible. Applications of 3.83 lakh are still under review, the minister added.Currently, 3.25 crore people from 98.37 lakh families are covered under NFSA.

This includes 12.36 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana families receiving 35 kg rice per month and 86.62 lakh priority households receiving 5 kg rice per member, both free of cost. Another 5.62 lakh people from 2.98 lakh families are covered under the state food security scheme with the same entitlements. The govt aims to cover 13.5 lakh people in rural areas and 1.5 lakh in urban areas under the state scheme.“Our priority is to ensure food security for every eligible family without bias. The govt is committed to ensuring no deserving person is left out,” the minister said. He added that the govt also supplied extra rice to beneficiaries from time to time to support nutritional needs.During the debate, opposition members attacked the govt, alleging that the food security system “went off track”, with some enrolled beneficiaries not receiving rice and several eligible families still excluded from the list.