DC | Darshana Ramdev | 19th Sep 2013
Bengaluru: People holding Below Poverty Line cards were in shock on Wednesday when fair price shop owners refused to hand over monthly rations unless they produced an Aadhar card.
Officials reached for comment said that ration shop owners may have seriously misconstrued a recent state government order. Be that as it may, BPL card holders left without their rations. The shops’ directive also has triggered a mad rush for the Aadhaar and UIDAI centers across the city, which has already seen twice as many applicants over the last two weeks.
For several of the applicants at the UIDAI center in Malleswaram on Wednesday afternoon, the wait has been over seven hours long. "We all have our ration cards, but the shop owners don’t want them.
They are willing to accept a stamped Aadhaar application, though, that’s why we’re here. We have been waiting since 6 am,” said Lakshmi (name changed), who works as a coolie here in the city. Their efforts, however, are hampered by the fact that the UIDAI office only sees 60 applicants a day.
“One litre of kerosene costs about Rs 70, how can we afford that?” asks one domestic worker from Srirampuram. Oddly, however, a handful of people said they hadn’t even approached fair price shop owners, as they were convinced they would be turned away.
A UIDAI official, who did not want to be named, said, “These people haven’t been getting their rations without a UIDAI number. We normally have about 100 applicants each day, but in the last two weeks, it’s been closer to 200.”
A senior member from the Fair Price Shop Owners’ Association said there has been confusion over whether or not Aadhar cards are mandatory for the Anna Bhagya Scheme. “The government has asked us to consider Aadhar cards as we distribute kerosene. It isn’t compulsory at the moment, however. The government recently said that the Anna Bhagya scheme may be linked to Aadhar. This has only fueled speculation and led to a rush for Aadhar cards,” he said.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Dinesh Gundurao, admitted to confusion in parts of Bengaluru and Tumkur. “The state government’s order has been misinterpreted,” he said. “We told BPL card holders to furnish the UIDAI number, but it is not connected with rations being handed out,’ he stressed. ‘This was a way to get them to enroll, although right now, rations are not being held back.’
Gundurao said the Aadhaar will be made compulsory for collecting rations, although this is still a few months down the line. “Right now, the UIDAI number, which is on the application form, will suffice. They don’t need to have an Aadhaar card right now. It will be made compulsory in about three months, but people will be given enough notice,” he explained.
As for people being refused rations, Gundurao said, “Some fair price shop owners have threatened consumers, telling them that they will not get their rations without the UIDAI number. They have been asked to clarify the issue immediately.”