Mumbai: The Maharashtra government deleted more than 7.5 million names from the list of beneficiaries receiving free food grains under central schemes through a major verification drive aimed at ensuring that food subsidies reach only eligible households. The action followed the Centre flagging 17.8 million ration card holders in the state as potentially ineligible for exceeding prescribed income limits, officials confirmed.
The exercise was carried out by the state’s food and civil supplies department after the Centre shared data compiled from eight departments, including the income tax department, transport authorities and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Information from schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) was also used to identify suspected ineligible beneficiaries.
While the Centre provided the list of flagged beneficiaries, it left the final verification and deletion to the states. In Maharashtra, the verification drive began in July last year, with officials conducting door-to-door checks to confirm income levels and residency status. So far, 7.5 million names have been removed following this scrutiny.
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Over 68 Million Free Ration Beneficiaries In Maharashtra
According to a Hindustan Times report, Maharashtra currently has over 68 million beneficiaries registered under around 16.5 million yellow and orange ration cards, entitling them to 5 kg of free food grains per person per month. Yellow ration cards are issued to families with an annual income of up to Rs 15,000, while orange cards are given to families earning up to Rs 1 lakh annually.
Of the 17.8 million names flagged by the Centre, a major number were identified based on landholdings exceeding one hectare. However, the Maharashtra government did not delete beneficiaries solely on this basis, as landholding is not a criterion under the state’s income-based eligibility norms. The state instead undertook a separate verification of the remaining 9.4 million beneficiaries.
“During the drive, names of beneficiaries who had died, migrated or crossed the income threshold were removed,” an official from the food and civil supplies department said. Verification of the remaining beneficiaries is still underway.
Officials said that the removal of ineligible beneficiaries will allow the inclusion of deserving households currently on waiting lists. “The 5 kg ration of wheat and rice per family member is fully sponsored by the Centre. After deleting 7.5 million ineligible beneficiaries, an equal number of new eligible families will be added,” the official told HT. Those excluded from the scheme due to higher income have been issued white ration cards, meant for families earning Rs 1 lakh or more annually.
The state government is also considering revising income eligibility limits, which were set after the National Food Security Act came into force in 2013. A committee headed by Chandrakant Dange, controller of rationing and director of civil supplies, has been formed to study new benchmarks based on hunger indicators, wage levels and per capita income.
“Other states have raised their income limits to between Rs 1.4 lakh and Rs 2.4 lakh. We will take a data-backed decision soon,” Dange said, as quoted by HT, noting that lower thresholds have caused Mumbai and Thane to fall short of the Centre’s beneficiary targets.
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