Bhubaneswar, Nov 29: The Odisha government has uncovered over 177,000 fraudulent ration card holders following a comprehensive statewide Know Your Customer (KYC) verification drive.
This is a major step towards improving the integrity of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and the effort is aimed at ensuring that food subsidies under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are delivered to truly deserving households.
According to MLA Manas Kumar Dutt, the department has completed KYC verification for 2, 69, 23,830 out of the 3,36,35,819 registered Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries. During this process, it was discovered that 177,068 beneficiaries listed were deceased.
Officials revealed that many discrepancies were found, including duplicate applications and individuals who no longer qualified for benefits. To combat these issues, the state is implementing strict measures to prevent future fraud.
The government has assured that the removal of these ineligible beneficiaries will free up resources to include more deserving families in the system. Beneficiaries have been urged to update their KYC information to ensure uninterrupted access to their entitlements.
This crackdown underscores Odisha’s commitment to fostering transparency and accountability in its welfare programs.
