Bhubaneswar: The State Government has removed a total of 3,28,932 dead beneficiaries from the public distribution system (PDS) during the ongoing e-KYC (know your customer) verification process.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said this in the Assembly while replying to a query by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
Shri Patra said 3,28,932 numbers of death cases have been identified so far who have been deleted from the ration card database during the e-KYC process,
Of these, Keonjhar had the maximum number of ghost beneficiaries with the figure touching 35,550, followed by Ganjam (25,789), Mayurbhanj (23,799) and Rayagada (22,411).
Similarly, 61,882 ineligible beneficiaries of 16,184 ration cards have been identified through field verification with reference to the notified exclusion criteria and deleted from the database so far, he said.
As per data provided by the minister, highest 6,003 ineligible beneficiaries detected in Nayagarh district, followed by Cuttack district (5,154), Balasore (4,748), Mayurbhanj district (4,403), Khurda (3,783) and Puri (3,009).
In another written statement, Shri Patra said, “So far, 2.99 crore beneficiaries have successfully completed the e-KYC of their ration cards while 32,82,491 beneficiaries are yet to get their e-KYC done.”
Steps are being taken to make e-KYC mandatory during digitization of new ration cards along with cross-examination of the new applicants with other exclusion criteria, he said while replying to a question by Congress MLA Sofia Firdous.
The e-KYC verification of the remaining beneficiaries is expected to be completed by March 2025, he said.
However, all the existing beneficiaries in the database irrespective of their e-KYC verification status are being provided ration. No beneficiary will be deprived of their foodgrain quota due to want of e-KYC, the minister clarified.
Meanwhile, opposition BJD and Congress demanded that the ration card of poor and small traders should not be deleted from the list.
The deadline for verification of ration cards was initially fixed at February 15, but later extended to March 31, 2025 due to internet connectivity issues.