BANGALORE: Following a re-survey to streamline the issuing of ration cards, the Government is set to issue temporary ration cards to families covered under the public distribution system from January 26. It will issue computerised permanent cards in phases from March.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies H.S. Mahadev Prasad told presspersons here on Tuesday that the purpose of issuing temporary ration cards is to prevent inconvenience and hardship for the cardholders as preparing over 70 lakh computerised cards covering 1.19 crore families would require time. However, the issuing of temporary cards valid for six months would be completed by February 15. Cardholders have to pay Rs. 5 for obtaining a temporary card and Rs. 40 for a permanent card, he said.

According to the 2001 census, there were 1.04 crore families with ration cards. But the recent re-survey has shown that the number of existing cards is estimated at 70 lakhs covering 1.19 crore families. Of them, 64,44,000 cardholders come under below poverty line category. Although the statistics projected by the census and the figures obtained during the re-survey do not tally, a clear picture would emerge only after eliminating the estimated 15 lakh bogus cards and taking steps to set right the anomalies, he said.

In an effort to improve the public distribution system and respond to consumers' grievances, the Government has proposed to constitute a "Food Security Committee" headed by a senior official in the rank of Principal Secretary.

The committee would meet every third week of the month to address the grievances and anomalies, if any, in the system within a month from the date of receipt of the complaint, he said.

The Union Government has proposed to fix the price of rice supplied through the system to below poverty line cardholders at Rs. 830 a quintal and others at Rs. 915 a quintal and wheat at Rs. 610 a quintal.

If it does not reconsider its proposal, the State has to bear an additional burden of Rs. 118 crores a month as it is committed to providing a maximum of 28 kg of rice a month at the rate of Rs. 3 a kg for the poor, the Minister said.

The Government may have to open an estimated 10,000 new fair price shops and issue a new set of guidelines restricting a maximum of 500 and a minimum of 300 cards for each shop.

It is also planning to offer two per cent additional profit for those who open fair price shops in remote places in the Malnad region and tribal areas irrespective of the number of cards they have to cater to, he said.

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