RFID tag to keep tabs on despatch of rice for Anna Bhagya

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has stated that the department is exploring the possibility of attaching every bag of rice which is lifted from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

“We are facing problems at present with keeping tabs on the rice which is being diverted from the Anna Bhagya scheme to the black market.

While there is proper receipt of every truckload, we are not able to ensure that every bag on the truck is despatched for the purpose of the scheme.

The RFID tag will help us keep track of the transport of rice,” said the minister on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, the minister said the government is bringing in an amendment to the Karnataka Essential Commodities Act of 1955 to ensure that bogus ration cards are weeded out. The minister stated that the government will consider penalising those who produce a bogus ration card to avail of the benefits.

Fresh endeavours to remove duplicate ration cards are also being made by linking them to EPIC numbers.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that people will change their EPIC numbers, and there will be two ration cards in the same name. In such cases, we will physically verify the ration card holders as soon as he or she comes to apply for a fresh ration card,” he said.

He alleged that the previous BJP government has made no serious efforts to weed out bogus ration cards.

He claimed the government has removed five lakh bogus cards since it came to power and issued nine lakh fresh ration cards to BPL families. In all, he said, 1.05 crore ration cards were issued.