'Ghost' ration cards to be cancelled

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Nov. 27: In order to check alleged malpractice of ration dealers the Malda food and supplies department has planned to launch a special drive in January and February to cancel the ration cards of dead persons.It has been reported that dealers lift food materials for themselves in the name of dead persons due to lack of monitoring by the food and supplies department.The district controller of food and supplies Mr Asim Basu said: “We will have to launch a special drive twice a year to cancel ration cards of the dead persons. “We have to do the job with the help of gram panchayat because they maintain a register of dead persons”. “We are planning to cancel ration cards of the dead persons in January and February”, Mr Basu said. According to him, the department could not cancel such ration cards of dead persons owing to lack of time and staff. This is a very tough job and requires more time to cancel such ration cards one by one with thorough checking in each ration shop.The dealers do not have the right to cancel ration cards but they can inform the matter to the department. But it has not been executed, food officials said. The department has been changing the system of cancellation of ration cards of dead persons after detection of abnormal number of excess cards based on the voter lists and growth rate of population but failed to check the menace.After public outrage for alleged rationing practices Malda villagers informed the block administrative officials that dealers were lifting food materials in the name of dead persons.