Give up fake ration cards before April or face music

Sanjeev Shivadekar, TNN, Nov 2, 2010,

MUMBAI: Those holding bogus ration cards can escape criminal action-if they surrender their card before April 2011. The state government has decided to take a sympathetic view of the offenders (any individual holding a bogus ration card) if they confess to the crime and surrender their card to the authority concerned before the deadline.

"No criminal action will be initiated against individuals who hold bogus ration cards and are willing to surrender the document (card) before April 2011," food and civil supplies minister, Anil Deshmukh said.

Last year, the state government had cancelled over 20 lakh bogus ration cards across the state. The highest number of bogus ration cards were found in Mumbai (6.6 lakh) followed by Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Ahmednagar respectively.

Bogus ration cards are generally found in urban areas where people try to make use of the document for getting voting rights and government facilities, said a senior department official. "Unlike urban areas, in rural areas the card is misused for getting benefits from Public Distribution Shop (PDS)," he added.

Social activist Anil Galgali, through RTI, had sought information on whether it was easy to obtain the ration card from the state government. "The government scheme of not punishing the bogus ration card holder if he confesses to the crime or surrenders the card is a good move. But what about taking action against the erring officials who are involved in the process of issuing bogus ration cards? Why is the department not taking any concrete action against the officials who knowingly issue the fake ration card?" he said.

Deshmukh said that the bogus ration card net had spread across the state. "We are working on the system to get rid of such issues," he said, adding, "In the coming days, one would certainly witness stern action against erring officials."

Meanwhile, of the estimated 3.5 lakh people who had obtained the below poverty line (BPL) ration card though they did not fit into the criteria, 50,000 have surrendered their card, the minister said. "In rural areas, there are cases of people disclosing smaller amounts than they actually earn. The earnings are not revealed to get a BPL ration card and PDS facility. But the department's drive urging people to surrender the BPL card if they are not eligible for it has become a great success," Deshmukh added.