Delhi food minister 'shocked' to learn many ration cards cancelled by food commissioner -Alok KN Mishra

-The Times of India

NEW DELHI: In the wake of the department of food supplies and consumers affairs stopping ration of many beneficiaries who did not avail their entitled ration for three consecutive months from January to March this without the approval of the food minister, minister Imran Hussain has hit out at the new food commissioner Mohanjeet Singh and said that he is shocked over it.

 

“I am shocked. The circular of this effect says that their ration is being stopped from May 2018 and verification would now be done and their ration would be restored only if they are found to be genuine after verification. This is a strange proposition,” Hussain wrote in a letter to Singh. It is estimated that around four lakh ration card holders did not avail ration for the three consecutive months.

Directing the food commissioner to restore the ration of all these beneficiaries, Hussain launched an attack on him through the letter. “Since the new food commissioner has joined, he has shown extraordinary interest and hurry to cancel the ration cards of those beneficiaries who did not avail their ration and issue fresh cards in their place. This is despite CM’s directions that no hasty action should be taken and these cards should not be canceled without proper verification. I am surprised by the move of the commissioner which appears suspicious,” Hussain said.

He pointed out that the verification should have preceded cancellation and only bogus cards should have been canceled and ration stopped. “It is strange that the department has taken a reverse course. In my opinion, it is completely illegal on the part of the department to stop ration on a validly issued ration card only because he did not avail ration for three months,” he wrote.

He pointed out that the verification should have preceded cancellation and only bogus cards should have been canceled and ration stopped. “It is strange that the department has taken a reverse course. In my opinion, it is completely illegal on the part of the department to stop ration on a validly issued ration card only because he did not avail ration for three months,” he wrote.

The development is likely to create a tussle between the minister and the food commissioner.

The minister agreed that some of the canceled cards could be bogus but also pointed out that many genuine people faced problems in availing rations due to faulty implementation of e-POS by the department and thus could not have availed the ration. “The LG and CM have already directed stopping e-POS with immediate effect. Poor internet connectivity also affected the supply of ration to many beneficiaries through e-POS machines. In many cases biometric verification failed due to soiled hands of the beneficiaries or other reasons which prompted many beneficiaries to simply give up after the first visit,” the minister wrote.

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