To weed out bogus ration cards from the public distribution system (PDS) in the state, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has ordered banning of all ration cards in circulation and introducing new cards in their place.
The exercise is targeted at removing leakages in PDS and reducing burden on the state exchequer, KCR stated.
The Chief Minister was reviewing a meeting with the officials of the state Civil Supplies Department in Hyderabad on Friday. KCR pointed out that there are 84 lakh families in the state but the rations cards, which are meant one for each family, are more than one crore.
Currently, there are 22 lakh extra or bogus cards in circulation state-wide, the Chief Minister said. Still, there was a high demand for the issuance of new ration cards state-wide including the Hyderabad region, KCR added.
Hence, the department officials should take all steps to weed out bogus ration cards, the CM instructed.
KCR also asked the officials to take all necessary steps to ensure that people do not face any crunch for petrol in north Telangana area.
Telangana finance minister Eatala Rajender, who is also the in-charge of Civil Supplies portfolio, raised the issue of more number of ration cards existing in circulation than the number of families in the state.
KCR demands Bharat Ratna for PV Narasimha Rao
Meanwhile, the Telangana Chief Minister paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao on Saturday, on the occasion of his 93rd birthday anniversay.
On the occasion, KCR announced that his Cabinet would soon pass a resolution requesting the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna to the late Rao, who is considered the father of economic reforms in India.
Tributes were paid to the late PM at PV Gnana Bhoomi in Hyderabad, where Governor ESL Narasimhan, Leader of Opposition K Jana Raddy, Jnanpeeth awardee C Narayana Reddy and others were in attendance.
KCR also urged the Centre to build a memorial to Rao in New Delhi. He regretted that Rao did not get the deserved honour at national level yet, despite his invaluable service to the country.
KCR described the late Prime Minister as a genius on many fronts.
Rao was the first to implement land reforms in Andhra Pradesh, KCR recalled. Despite knowing that he would face many problems in implementing the reforms, he did not go back, and in the process of implementing the land reforms in AP, Rao lost his chief ministerial position, KCR added.
