61,216 BPL cards to be scrapped in Belagavi
In Belagavi district, the Food and Civil Supply Department has found 61,216 people who are not eligible for Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards. These families have been sent notices, and if they don't give a valid explanation, their BPL cards will be cancelled. There are 11.3 lakh BPL cardholders in Belagavi district overall, and across Karnataka, over 22.4 lakh people have been found to be ineligible for these cards during a recent verification.
According to government rules, families with an income above ₹1.2 lakh per year, income tax payers, and government employees cannot have BPL ration cards. Despite this, many ineligible people have managed to get these cards. The department has already reclaimed some cards and is preparing to take legal action against those who misused the system.
Belagavi district has 14.5 lakh ration cardholders in total, including both Above Poverty Line (APL) and BPL cards. Among the 61,216 ineligible BPL cards, 6,688 belong to income tax payers, 54,222 to those earning more than the allowed limit, and 306 to government employees. Officials are now collecting Aadhaar details of government employees to find those who have wrongly received BPL cards.
The task of identifying ineligible BPL cardholders is challenging, but the department has already cancelled 45,804 such cards in Belagavi district from 2020 to March 2024. In Belagavi taluk alone, 24,000 ineligible cards were discovered.
Prashant B, a resident of Ramateerth Nagar, said that many wealthy and politically connected people have taken BPL cards in places like Belagavi, Athani, Chikodi, Hukkeri, Raibag, and Ramadurg. He believes such illegalities cannot happen without help from officials.
Mallikarjun Nayak, Deputy Director of the Food and Civil Supply Department, said that they are continuing to search for ineligible cardholders, issuing notices, and will take legal action against those who break the rules.
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