Maharashtra: Aadhaar saves 3.68 lakh MT Public Distribution System grain by eliminating ghost beneficiaries

Aadhaar-based seeding of ration cards and biometric verification of public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries has led to around ten lakh ration cards being removed from the system and over 3.68 lakh metric tons (MT) grain distributed to ghost or ineligible beneficiaries being saved.

"The implementation of the Aadhaar-enabled PDS (AePDS) system has helped weed out ten lakh ration cards and saved over 3.68 lakh MT of grain that was given to these beneficiaries, who may be duplicate or ghost beneficiaries. The clean up of the database is a continuous process. Eligible beneficiaries are added in place of those whose names are struck off," explained a senior official from the state food and civil supplies department.

Though the numbers vary, each ration card covers an average of four family members. Another official added that the amount of subsidised food grains saved in 2017-18 almost equaled the monthly allocation. Maharashtra sees 2.15 lakh metric tons of wheat and 1.68 lakh metric tons of rice being distributed to beneficiaries every month through the network of around 52,000 fair price shops.

Maharashtra has around 1.48 crore ration cards (or 7.0016 crore targeted beneficiaries of an 11.23 crore estimated population) covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. It covers up to 75% of the rural and up to 50 per cent of the urban population for receiving subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

The state government is seeding Aadhaar numbers with PDS cards and has achieved over 98 per cent seeding. NFSA families get 5 kg allotment of subsidised rice and wheat per person (3kg wheat at Rs 2 per kg and 2kg rice at Rs 3 per kg). Jowar and maize are also distributed instead of wheat if they are procured. Those covered under the Antyodaya scheme get 35 kg grain (wheat and rice) per card.

The Maharashtra government has equipped fair price shops with a point of sale (POS) machines to ensure disbursement of grain through biometric authentication. The digitisation of ration cards and seeding with the Aadhaar database was launched in 2016-17 and from March 2017, POS machines are being installed at these retail outlets.

Department officials said that while Maharashtra distributes Rs 12,000 crore of subsidised grain annually to beneficiaries under the PDS, around Rs 2,000 crore worth grain is diverted to the open market.

However, activist Pratibha Shinde of the Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti said farmers and labourers were unable to avail of their grain entitlement due to biometric obscuration of fingerprints. "In districts like Dhule and Nandurbar, many people have been unable to get Aadhaar cards. Though the presence of bogus ration cards in the system cannot be denied, many who have been excluded are from the working class," she added.

In March this year, the state government enabled PDS beneficiaries like migrant workers to purchase their entitlement of grain from any fair price shop across Maharashtra by implementing portability for ration cards. An official added that a common nationwide database would enable pan-India portability and help do away with identity frauds by those beneficiaries who held ration cards in more than one state.

NUMBERS SPEAK

• The state sees 2.15 lakh MT wheat & 1.68 lakh MT rice being distributed to beneficiaries each month through network of nearly 52,000 fair price shops. 
   
• It has around 1.48 crore ration cards (or 7.0016 crore targeted beneficiaries of an 11.23 crore estimated population) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.