The food and civil supplies department has cancelled 8,660 ration cards in the city in order to crackdown on bogus cards as part of the Panchatantra scheme.

The department had undertaken a drive to collect the RR number of electricity bills and revenue number of houses in both the city and grama panchayat. With the process reaching the final stage, the department has cancelled bogus ration cards.

Verification of 41,000 ration cards in rural areas is being undertaken by the food and civil supplies department.

At present, more than 2.33 lakh ration cards have been issued in rural areas and 42,000 in the city.With online applications are being provided, the department has received more than 24,000 applications until now. For those applying for ration cards in rural areas, the annual income has been fixed at Rs 12,000 for rural areas and Rs 17,000 for urban areas.

Food inspectors have visited the houses of beneficiaries, verified the applications and checked if the family has already received ration cards. Those with more than three hectare of land, landline telephone would receive ration cards, while it would be denied to families owning a petrol and diesel vehicle. People who have obtained loan amounting to more than Rs one lakh from banks are also ineligible for ration cards.

Registered contractors, APMC merchants, commission agents and people earning more than Rs 1,000 in government or private institutions would also be denied cards.

Food and civil supplies department deputy director Dr S E Mahadevappa told Deccan Herald that at present, applications are being received and verified through the online system.

Later, the eligible would be given the ration cards. People from rural areas can visit the grama panchayat and those in urban areas can visit designated offices and record their photographs and fingerprints. He said that ration cards of people, who had obtained them by flouting rules have been cancelled.