Kolkata, Sep 28 (IANS): The West Bengal Directorate of Rationing has deactivated a total of 11.12 lakh ration cards since the beginning of the current financial year, from April 1.
Insiders from the State Food and Supplies Department claim that although officially the figure of deactivated ration or public distribution system (PDS) cards was shown since April 2026, the actual deactivation process began in the state in full force from June, after the new state government took charge.
It is learnt that the list of voters whose names were deleted in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, including dead, duplicate and shifted voters, helped in the process of deactivation of ration cards.
However, the State Food and Supplies Department officials added, considering the sensitivity and legal process still associated with the exercise, the around 11.12 lakh ration cards that have been deactivated so far are mainly those of deceased voters.
He added that the cards of many other voters shown as deceased in the SIR are yet to be completed, as the rationing officers are cross-checking the data on deceased voters before finally recommending their ration cards for deactivation. “That is why the deactivation process had been a bit slow,” the department official said.
He said that after the process for deactivation of ration cards of deceased individuals would be completed, the same would start for those individuals whose names have been deleted for genuine reasons, with a focus on illegal immigrants managing to become voters in the state by virtue of other fake Indian identity documents.
The deactivation of ration cards in such cases, as felt by the new state administration, is necessary for two reasons. The first is to ensure that only existing and genuine beneficiaries enjoy the food subsidy benefits provided by the government.
“There is a second factor that is prompting this exercise of deactivation of ration cards. In the multi-crore PDS case in West Bengal during the previous regime, in which even the former state Food and Supplies Minister was arrested, it was noticed that rations were drawn against cards of deceased individuals and subsequently sold in the market at premium prices. Once such ration cards are deactivated, the possibilities of such scams are also eliminated,” the official said.
