Many needy people unable to avail benefits of Govt schemes
Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, Aug 12: Thousands of needy people in Jammu and Kashmir are unable to avail benefits from most of the Government schemes meant for the poor as the authorities concerned have failed to bifurcate their ration cards for the last some years.
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It is pertinent to mention here that many people in Jammu have joint ration cards while for getting benefits of Government schemes, a Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card is essentially needed for which the joint ration cards are required to be bifurcated.
The prominent reason with the senior citizens for getting the ration cards bifurcated is to avail Old Age Pension while for others it is necessary for getting BPL ration card to avail benefits of the Government schemes like the one under which one gets ration at highly subsidised rates etc.
As many families have joint ration cards with elders in the family unable to do anything and are in utter need of Old Age Pension from the Government, but, as their children are well off and on good positions, they are unable to avail the pension benefit without getting the ration card bifurcated.
“Abhi Nahi Ho Raha Hai (it is not being done now),” is the reply people get on visiting the offices of Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) in Jammu for getting their ration cards bifurcated to make a BPL ration card.
Dismayed after repeated visits to the offices of FCS&CA, the poor people look for some political leader to make an influence in getting some favour from the concerned authorities to get a BPL ration card so that they can avail benefits from certain Government schemes.
“Many people from my Ward visit me repeatedly with the issue as some elders in the area are at present in the dire need of Old Age Pension from the Social Welfare Department,” Narotam Sharma, former JMC Councillor of Ward number 3 (Peer Kho-Mast Garh area) of Old Jammu City said adding: “Many other deserving people also are unable to get the benefits of certain Government schemes which require BPL Ration Cards but the people have joint ration cards which is not being bifurcated presently.”
Similar concern was expressed by Jeet Angral, former JMC Councillor from Ward number 12 (Krishna Nagar area) who said that most of the members of joint families have not bifurcated their ration cards in his area and there are cases wherein one brother is a Government employee earning a handsome salary while the another one is a petty vendor hardly living from hand to mouth and essentially needs benefits of Government schemes but is unable to get the same in the absence of a BPL ration card.
He informed that Krishna Nagar locality has about 500 families living in BPL conditions and necessarily need bifurcation for ration cards to avail benefits of Government schemes.
Similar concern was echoed by Gopal Gupta, another former Councillor from Wazarat Road area of the city while Sucha Singh, former Councillor from Ward number 31 (Bhagwati Nagar-Talab Tillo area) informed that his Ward has some 200 such families which were unable to avail the benefits of Government schemes like ‘Ladli Beti’ (a scheme for poor girls) in the absence of a BPL Ration Card.
When contacted, Rifat Kohli, Director FCS&CA informed that bifurcation of ration cards is not allowed at present but the Government of J&K has send a proposal to the Centre for some relief and they were waiting if some decision is taken in this regard.
“Otherwise it (Ration Card bifurcation) will start after the next census as now we are working on the basis of 2011 census and ration is also supplied at present as per that census only,” she maintained.
The Director further said that the bifurcation of ration cards will be done on the base of new census as per the directions of the Government.
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