Hatadihi: The launch of e-KYC (Know Your Customer) by the state government to ensure transparency in the food security scheme under the public distribution system (PDS) has exposed the ugly secrets in the scheme, a report said.
The e-KYC aims to identify eligible and ineligible beneficiaries, including ghost beneficiaries, receiving government benefits under the scheme. As a result, ineligible beneficiaries are being flagged.
Accordingly, the State Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department has compiled a block-wise list of ineligible beneficiaries. The list reveals the presence of 514 ineligible beneficiaries from 132 families under the Hatadihi block in the Keonjhar district.
The list includes names of salaried employees from various sectors who are not eligible for ration supplies under the scheme. However, it is yet to be confirmed whether these ineligible beneficiaries in the list have availed of ration supplies. The exact count of eligible and ineligible beneficiaries from the list remains unclear. Additionally, names of eligible beneficiaries also appear in the ineligible list, further raising several questions.
Block supply officer Satya Narayan Pattnaik said the state government has provided the list of ineligible beneficiaries to all blocks in the state. The list of the Hatadihi block contains 514 individuals from 132 families. This data was sourced from the HRMS portal, and investigations are underway to verify the truth and find out the eligible beneficiaries.
The inquiry will also determine whether these 514 ineligible beneficiaries have availed ration supplies. As per government regulations, employees earning less than Rs10,000 per month in rural areas are eligible for ration supplies. The list reportedly includes such employees, which requires further clarification.
District civil supplies officer Ajay Kumar Rath stated that they have not yet received the official list of ineligible beneficiaries from the government. Reports from various blocks are awaited, and appropriate measures will be taken once the inquiries are completed.
