Cancellation of Ineligible BPL Cards As per Centers Direction, Says Minister

Bengaluru: As per the direction of the Central Government, steps have been initiated by the State Government to weed out ineligible Below Poverty Line card holders, said Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa and clarified none of the eligible BPL card holders have been cancelled.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru on Thursday, Muniyappa said as many as 1, 02, 509 card holders are found to be either Income Tax payers or Government employees and at the time of scrutiny, 68, 017 cards have been either kept under suspension or moved to Above Poverty Line (APL). Verification of 17, 710 card holders is in progress. After scrutiny of card holders, the Minister said, 16, 806 card holders have been retained under Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Munyiappa said the Central Government stated as many as 5.8 crore initiated steps to cancel ineligible BPL card holders in the country and Karnataka is on exception. As per the order of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Muniyappa said only Income Tax payers and Government employees having BPL cards will be cancelled and no eligible card holders will get their card cancelled. If eligible card holders are moved to APL cards, then, steps will be initiated to bring them back to BPL and sought a week to set things right.

In Karnataka, the Minister said, about 66 percent of the population including both urban and rural areas have BPL cards whereas in Kerala the figures are 45. 59 percent, Tamil Nadu stands at 48. 81 percent, Telangana at 53.93 percent, Andhra Pradesh at 63.79 percent and Maharashtra at 58.47 percent. Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) Central limit, the Minister said about 50 percent of the population are eligible to get BPL cards while it is 75 cent in rural areas.

After Maharashtra, Karnataka is the highest tax payer in the country indicating that the State is prosperous and the situation calls for scrutiny of BPL card holders, he said.