Renewal of ration card issue rocks Udupi ZP meeting

Around 26,000 ration cards have been cancelled in the district

The major issue that rocked the Zilla Panchayat meeting held on Tuesday was the irregularities in registration and renewal of the ration cards. The members unanimously opposed the rule that makes Gram Panchayat solely responsible for the entire process as each GP is made a franchise for ration cards at village level.

ZP member Mamatha Adhikari questioned the need for the renewal of ration cards that were received prior to 2010. She asked the purpose for the entire family members to visit the gram panchayat for the deletion and addition of the names in the ration card.

Member Ananth Muwadi said the GP is capable for processing only six to seven ration cards per day. Around 20,000 ration cards are struck and around 800-900 cards in each village is missing.

Door number

Member Manjunath Poojary raised the issue of people residing on government land not getting door number and hence they have difficulties in procuring ration cards.
MLA Pramod Madhwaraj said that there is a provision which limits allottment of ration cards only to those having government survey numbers. There is an opportunity to change the APL card to BPL and vice versa.

The government is also looking into the demand of supplying rice at Re 1/kg to APL card holders.

The MLA promised that he will ask for additional computers to the GP and besides GP should also be provided with additional biometric franchises. Food and Civil Supplies Deputy Director Arun Kumar Sanghvi said that registration for new ration card is a continuous process.

However, there is a time frame for the renewal. So far, around 26,000 ration cards have been cancelled.

ZP CEO Prabhakar Sharma said the complications involved in procuring ration cards should be solved at the government level and the department is only following the guidelines issued by the government.

Manipal incident

Zilla Panchayat members condemned the Manipal rape incident. MLA Madhwaraj said that the incident should be taken seriously.

Member Geethanjali Suvarna said that even after five days of the heinous crime, the police are still in dark. The accused should punished.

Manjunath Poojary pointed out that there was a need for stringent law to deal with such crimes. Member Gopi Naika said the lapses on the part of police are evident following their inability to arrest the offenders. Member Ananth Muwadi said the law and order should be strengthened.

Member Adikari demanded stringent measures to check drug mafia in the district. The CCTV cameras should be installed in all University and college campuses.

CRZ issue

Members also demanded justice for the people who become victims of CRZ norms. The MLA said the government should extend the same provisions to Karnataka coast similar to that of Goa and Kerala.

The concerned official said that a comprehensive plan in this regard has been sent to the government. The CRZ notification of 2011 is simple unlike earlier amendments. It extends new construction facilities within 200-500 metres from the shore coming under CRZ.

The house also paid condolences to the people who lost their lives in the recent flood in Uttarkhand. The members also donated their one month’s honorarium to the victims.