Odisha Removes Over 4 Lakh Ration Cards After eKYC Verification

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has removed 4,08,107 ration cardholders from its database following an extensive eKYC verification drive, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra informed the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

The verification drive, launched in August-September 2024, aimed to eliminate deceased individuals and ineligible beneficiaries from the ration card system. Responding to a query from Congress MLA Sofia Firdous (Barabati-Cuttack), Minister Patra revealed that 23,138 ineligible ration cards, covering 87,844 members, were detected and deleted during field verification based on the Odisha State Food Security (Targeted) Rules, 2020.

In Barabati-Cuttack alone, 1,978 deceased beneficiaries were identified and removed, while 1,362 ineligible ration cards, covering 2,269 members, were also deleted.

The Minister emphasized that officials at block and urban local body (ULB) levels have been instructed to strictly follow verification norms as the field verification process continues.