Loan wavier: Rise in demand for ration cards

Team Udayavani, Jan 2, 2019, 2:23 AM IST

Bengaluru: The Food Department, which is struggling to fulfill scores of applications for new ration cards now has a new headache with the government stating that ration cards are compulsory for the farmers to get the letter of debt wavier under the farmer loan wavier programme of the government.  

Due to the government’s decision of ‘Ration card Link’, the number of new applications has increased. Besides those whose names are already included in the ration card of the joint family they live in are now applying for a separate ration card to avail the benefits of the loan wavier and thus the number of application seem to be countless.

After the government passed the order that ration card is compulsory to avail the letter of debt wavier under its farmer loan wavier scheme, since the month of June, more than 7 lakh applications have been submitted demanding ne ration cards. Because of this, the staff of the Food Department is under immense work pressure, informs the Department.

Meanwhile, as there is a deadline by which the document need to be submitted to the banks, the pressure is only increasing with the demand to provide the ration cards at the earliest. Since it is a ‘First come First Service’ system for those who have applied online, the applications will be fulfilled in the sequential order itself. If the ration cards are not given due to technical reasons, then allegations rise that the ration cards are not being given to the farmers, clarify the officials from the Food Department.

Ration card up till 2018 will be considered

If more than one person of the same family who have their name in the ration card do not stop applying for a new ration card through separate applications it will only delay the distribution of ration cards to families who have applied newly. Besides the number of applications for the ration card will also increase drastically. In the coming days it will lead to a variety of problems. Mainly, the rise in the number of farmers coming with the limits of the loan wavier scheme will have an adverse effect on the government, explained an official from the Food Department with Udayavani.

4 lack cards distributed

We have not stopped the distribution of new ration cards. But since the submission of ration card has been made compulsory for the farmers to avail the loan wavier, there is a sudden rise in the number of applications for new ration cards. Because of this, the Department staff is working under enough work pressure. Even then, of the more than 7 lakh applications submitted since last May, approximately 4 lakh ration cards have been distributed to the beneficiaries. Currently, there are 1.14 crore BPL cards in the state, informed the officials

Article by Rafeeq Ahmed translated into English by Aaron Dmello