The Food and Civil Supplies department is set to stop distribution of food grains from October to 3.5 lakh ration card holders in urban centres who have not provided EPIC or Aadhaar numbers.
There are 29,000 such card holders in Mysore. The move may put card holders, especially those below the poverty line, in a fix.
Announcing this to the media here on Wednesday, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the measure comes in the wake of the department not being able to elicit much information from the card holders on the Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) and Aadhaar numbers, even after cutting kerosene supply. Similar action will be taken against card holders in rural areas too, if they fail to provide the requisite information.
On the ongoing process to link EPIC cards and Aadhaar numbers to the existing database, the minister said that 1.03 crore cards are being linked, while 1.76 lakh applications have been received for new cards.
Out of these, 31,000 cards have been distributed, while 11,000 cards are ready for distribution. An equal number of applications (11,000) have been rejected, while in the case of remaining applicants, the department has sought additional information.
The department has decided to issue ration cards to transgenders in the State. It is a recent decision that awaits a government order, Rao said.
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