No new ration cards being issued Punjab minister Kataruchak informs assembly

Chandigarh, Mar 24 (PTI) Punjab minister Lal Chand Kataruchak on Monday informed assembly that no new ration cards are being issued as about 18 lakh beneficiaries registered in the state are more than the capping of 141.45 lakh beneficiaries to be covered under the National Food Security Act.
     Replying to a question on Baba Bakala MLA Dalbir Singh during the Question Hour in the budget session, Kataruchak said as per the provisions of the Targeted Public Distribution System Control Order, 2015, the Government of India has set a capping of 141.45 lakh people (51 per cent of population as per 2011 Census) that can be covered under the National Food Security Act, based on the 2011 Census.
     Since, already about 18 lakh beneficiaries registered in Punjab are more than the said capping of the Centre as of now, therefore no new ration cards are being issued for some time now, the minister of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs said.
     The MLA had questioned whether beneficiaries of the Baba Bakala constituency are deprived of blue cards.
     The minister replied that as on date, 36,860 ration card holder families are taking benefit under smart ration card scheme in Baba Bakala constituency.
     "All the forms of eligible beneficiaries received from district administration have been entered online on the portal. There is no form of any eligible beneficiary in Baba Bakala Constituency pending to be entered online, he said.
     To another question, Kataruchak said daughters of families registered under the smart ration card scheme, who get married can have their names deleted from the ration card of the father's family and then registered in the ration card of the in-laws' family, provided that the in-laws' family also has a ration card in the state under this scheme.
     "But at present, there are already about 18 lakh beneficiaries registered in the state (which is) , more than the capping of the government of India, due to which new names are not being registered in the existing ration cards for some time now."
     "This issue was taken up with the Centre, it has informed that a decision in this regard can be taken only after the next Census," he said.
     Responding to a question raised through a call attention notice by MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Punjab Local Government Minister Ravjot Singh said necessary procedures and processes must be followed regarding the inclusion of 12 gram panchayats of Amritsar (North) constituency into the Amritsar Municipal Corporation.
     The minister said that Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had raised this matter during a meeting of the Panchayati Raj Institutions Committee of Punjab Legislative Assembly on January 24, 2024.
     Subsequently, some of the 12 gram panchayats passed resolutions in February 2024 requesting the inclusion of their areas into the Amritsar Municipal Corporation.
     The minister said new panchayats have been constituted following the gram panchayat elections held last October.
     In this regard, it would be appropriate for the newly formed gram panchayat institutions to pass fresh resolutions regarding their inclusion in the Municipal Corporation.
     He further said that after the urban local body elections held in December 2024, a new house of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation was constituted on January 28, 2025.
     When the Municipal Corporation house would pass the resolution regarding the inclusion of these gram panchayats, further action will be initiated under Section 3(6) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.
     The department is in continuous contact with the deputy commissioner and the commissioner of Amritsar Municipal Corporation regarding this matter, he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)