61.15 lakh people eligible for benefits

Hyderabad: The number of applications for ration cards (food security cards) and pensions were arrived at based on applications received till October 15 and with the deadline to submit applications ending on October 20, many more lakhs are likely to be filtered out.

As many as 33,28,061 applications were received for pensions and 68,94,604 for ration cards. The total applications received as on October 15 stands at 1.02 crore. However, the data collected in the household survey showed that only 61.15 lakh were eligible for these benefits.

The government in its orders to officials clearly stated that, “The household verification format for cards and pensions shall be updated with the existing Samagra Kutumba Survey data (household survey).”

This clearly shows the government’s plans to filter out applicants by using the household data. However, the big question remains is whether the survey was “error free”. Though the survey was a success, the state machinery failed to do it perfectly.

Since it was a one-day survey across the state, officials struggled to complete the task and were unable to visit each and every household and even when they visited they just took Aadhaar card numbers and left.

Most of the applicants seeking cards and pensions hail from the poorest of the poor sections and are either illiterate or semiliterate. Their details were not taken correctly in the survey and they now face the risk of losing food security.