Odisha govt urges fraudulent ration card holders to surrender cards immediately

Bhubaneswar, Jan 20: The Odisha government has issued a directive for ineligible beneficiaries to immediately return ration cards obtained through fraudulent means before further action is taken against them. Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra stated that several individuals from high-income groups and government employees were found to possess these ration cards.

This issue was uncovered during the electronic KYC verification process, which revealed that many income taxpayers, including doctors and government officials, were improperly benefiting from food security schemes. Patra urged these individuals to voluntarily surrender their ration cards to avoid penalties.

The government has initiated a thorough verification of documents and is committed to identifying those who gained access to ration cards through fraudulent practices. Those identified as ineligible will be removed from the beneficiary list, and the Minister warned that failure to surrender the cards could result in penalties. Additionally, fines may be imposed retroactively from the date the ration cards were issued.

Recently, the Minister highlighted that approximately four lakh income taxpayers had fraudulently obtained ration cards under the food security scheme during the tenure of the previous government.