WB govt to intensify scrutiny of ration card beneficiaries, strengthen PDS vigilance

The West Bengal government on Friday decided to intensify scrutiny of ration card beneficiaries and strengthen vigilance across the public distribution system (PDS) to ensure that food security benefits reach only genuine and economically weaker families, a senior official said.

The state government has initiated a renewed verification process to identify and remove ineligible beneficiaries from ration card lists, while also taking steps to include deserving people who may have been left out.

The drive will particularly target government and semi-government employees, staff of various organisations and their family members, income tax payers, financially well-off families, businessmen, economically affluent individuals and those holding multiple ration cards, a statement stated.

''The main objective is to ensure that the benefits of food security schemes reach the genuinely poor and eligible people,'' a senior food department official said.

According to him, ration cards of people found ineligible during the verification process will be cancelled, and new eligible beneficiaries will be included.

The government has also directed district administrations to conduct more surprise inspections to maintain transparency in the PDS network and safeguard public interest.

Another senior official said strict legal action would be taken in cases of irregularities, including black marketing, supply of substandard foodgrains and under-weighing at Fair Price Shops (FPS).

''The state government is committed to maintaining a transparent and accountable food distribution mechanism. Surprise inspections and verification drives have already been intensified at different levels,'' the official said.

He further stated that beneficiaries under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme would also undergo fresh verification to ensure that only genuinely poor families continue to receive benefits.

District authorities have been instructed to conduct detailed verification exercises and simultaneously identify deserving beneficiaries who may have been excluded from the list, the official said.

The government also ordered stricter monitoring of paddy procurement operations to eliminate the role of middlemen and ensure that genuine farmers receive fair prices and timely payments.

Officials have additionally been asked to conduct regular and surprise inspections at rice mills, flour mills, distributor points and dealer godowns to check whether food grain storage, quality, quantity and record maintenance are being carried out according to prescribed norms.

The state government would continue taking ''strict measures'' to protect public interest, strengthen transparency and improve governance in the food distribution system, he stated.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)