Kalaburagi: Distribution of new ration cards has been halted in the state from past two years, resulting in lakhs of pending applications, officials said. The govt took this action on the pretext of revising ineligible BPL cards, causing severe hardship for the public.APL cards are also unavailable, leaving people struggling. APL and BPL cards were not issued to new applicants in the state for the last couple of years due to the revision of ration cards for those below the poverty line. The last time the govt gave a green signal for the distribution of new ration cards was in Sept 2023.Since then, applicants are not allowed to validate their applications, leading to lakhs of pending applications across the state, officials added. In the last assembly session, minister of food and civil supplies department KH Muniyappa stated that the state has more BPL cards than any other in South India. According to him, there are about 1.3 crore BPL cards in the state, covering 4 crore people.Officials explained that the root cause of the problem is that individuals eligible for APL cards have BPL cards instead. Ministers and officials have been highlighting the issue of excess BPL cards for years. However, the reason for the slow revision process remains unclear. Most officials insist that ration cards should be distributed to new applicants following a one-time revision. Govt officials also note that ration cards are compulsory for accessing govt schemes.During the revision conducted a year ago, some people’s cards were cancelled or names were removed, making it impossible for them to obtain new APL cards. Officials mentioned that issuing APL cards could help dispose of at least half of the pending applications.Deputy director of the department of food and civil supplies Bhimaraya Masali said that for the past couple of years, the govt has not given the nod for the distribution of new ration cards. Superiors have indicated that approval will be granted from Oct, and currently, cards for health issues are being issued quickly.
