Grain for all after card snag - Fearing ration backlash in districts, Mamata relaxes norm

TT, Calcutta, Feb. 8: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today delinked digital ration cards from access to cheap foodgrain, seeking to quell discontent that was beginning to boil but prompting concerns whether the stocks available for the time being could keep pace with the resultant surge in demand.

Lakhs of complaints had started to pour in from the districts that faulty cards were standing in the way of the scheme under the National Food Security Act, launched in the state on January 27.

According to norms, digitised ration cards, commonly known as NFSA cards, are mandatory to claim subsidised foodgrain after the launch of the scheme.

“We could distribute 82 per cent of the cards so far and a few cards are faulty…. All those who have the cards, who have applied for the cards and those who are yet to apply for the cards would get subsidised rice. We will correct the mistakes in the cards later,” Mamata said at Nabanna today.

“Those who did not have the cards or who have faulty cards can claim the foodgrain from their ration shops by producing old ration cards,” the chief minister added.

But the move, officials said, could leave ration dealers as well as district-level officers vulnerable to a backlash if cheap rice is not supplied to all.

Bengal had 6.01 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA. Each will get 5kg of foodgrain a month at Rs 2 a kg.

In addition to the Centre’s count, the state had decided to bring another 1.49 crore people under the scheme, taking the total beneficiaries to 7.5 crore. This will entail an expenditure of over Rs 4,200 crore from the exchequer.  

Sources said the chief minister decided not to make the digital cards mandatory for now after she realised the snag’s potential to hurt her in rural areas ahead of elections.

“At least four lakh complaints have come in from the districts that people are not getting cheap rice because of faulty cards as soon as the NFSA was launched…. Such grievances usually turn into big expressions of discontent. The chief minister did not take any chance,” said an official.

Sources said the controversy over distribution of BPL cards during the Left Front tenure was at the back of Mamata’s mind while taking the decision allowing cheap rice for all.

The officials are now worried whether the relaxation would cause chaos. According to sources, initially it was decided that about 7 crore people will get rice and wheat at Rs 2 a kg and another 50 lakh would get foodgrain at half the market price and the remaining 1.7 crore holders of regular ration cards would not get any subsidy on foodgrain. 

“This could have been implemented based on the digitised ration cards…. Now there could be trouble if everyone claims foodgrain at Rs 2 a kg,” said a district magistrate.

Ideally, the state should have waited a month after distributing the digitised cards to launch the scheme, the officials said.