Govind M. Karjol

BANGALORE: At least two per cent of government employees, including police personnel, have obtained below the poverty line (BPL) ration cards by producing fake documents, according to Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Govind Karjol.

Suspended

Fifty-two department employees and six village accountants had been suspended in Davangere district for obtaining BPL cards in their names. A departmental inquiry had revealed that in-service government staff, retired employees and police personnel had obtained at least a few thousand BPL cards. Out of 65 lakh BPL cards issued by the department, about 10 lakh had gone to ineligible people, he said.

The suspended village accountants are P. Jagannath, K. Dugappa, M.S. Gurumurthy, Parashuram, Cariappa and D. Tippesh Reddy.

Loopholes

Mr. Karjol told reporters here on Saturday that there were loopholes in the distribution of ration cards.

A circular had been issued asking all government employees and retired staff to return BPL cards to the tahsildars concerned within 15 days. Some families had obtained more than one card, he said.

A few months ago, Mr. Karjol stated that 10 legislators had received BPL cards on account of the unscientific survey conducted last year.

To prevent the misuse of ration cards, the Government has decided to ban the use of the cards to obtain driving licences, housing sites under the Ashraya scheme and for school admissions. The ration cards should be used by BPL families only to obtain foodgrains from ration shops, he said.

The Department of Legal Metrology had collected Rs. 20 crore in the form of fines and registration fees, he said, adding that shortage of staff and vehicles had affected the functioning of the department.

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