Ahmedabad, 13 November 2014

Gujarat Congress today protested against difficulties poor people are facing in connection with biometric ration cards.

Congress MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh in a note suggested that:

-Those card holders who have not got bar coded ration card need to get new bar coded ration cards(BRC) quickly, and the government should make proper arrangements for this. The new policy should be in practice only after allotment of bar coded ration cards to all.

-Those who have been already allotted BRC are now told that finger print doesn’t match. Due to this, they are not able to get the stock. The process of finger print approval should be suspended for now and old system should be restored. Those who have already given finger print, but it is erased due to technical errors should be supplied the stock they deserve to get.

-Below Poverty Line(BPL) and Above Poverty Line(APL) consumers have to lose Rs. 200/day income to get kerosene worth Rs. 100. Their time is wasted. Government should see that they get kerosene timely. Women stand up in queue from 4.00 am in dark. Kerosene is distributed at 6.00 am. This creates safety issue. They should be given ration after 8.00 am.

-Behavior with women should be proper. Actions must be taken against those who behave badly with women.

-APL card owner don’t get stock of food as per the rule by shop keepers. Such shop keepers must face action.

-Shop keepers don’t use certified measurement instruments.

-Zonal offices offer online procedure for ration cards, but every month, servers are non-functional for on an average 10 days period. Ration card consumers face great difficulties due to this. Government has fixed Rs. 5 fee for coupon, but shop owners demand Rs. 10.

-The company that has been given contract to prepare ration cards needs to face action.

-Taking finger prints of handicapped and old people has not been successful, and therefore there should be alternative arrangements for them.

More on this:

The state government has adopted the model of barcoded ration card to fight against bogus ration cards, however the agencies that have been assigned this task have performed poorly. In Gandhinagar district, the task was assigned to Silvertouch technologies. This Ahmedabad based agency has performed poorly with may faults and errors in execution of job. The company has been served show cause notice. The company has produced Rs. 28,45, 896 bank guarantee, 10% of which (Rs. 2,84,590) has been confiscated as penalty. The agency however has been paid Rs. 51,32,287 amount in last two years!