Ludhiana: 15K e-Shram card holders in city miss out on free ration
According to officials of the food supply department, these beneficiaries had completed their e-KYC and were verified to receive 15 kg of wheat per person for three months, to be distributed in May
Even as the Supreme Court mandated the inclusion of e-Shram card holders in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and directed states to issue ration cards to them for free ration, nearly 15,000 such workers in Ludhiana district remain excluded from the ongoing quarterly wheat distribution.
According to officials of the food supply department, these beneficiaries had completed their e-KYC and were verified to receive 15 kg of wheat per person for three months, to be distributed in May. To meet the anticipated demand, the department had also procured an additional 2,250.3 quintals of wheat during the recent procurement season.
However, when ration distribution began on May 16 across the district, the names of these beneficiaries were missing from the updated beneficiary list in the e-Point of Sale (e-PoS) machines managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). As a result, despite being verified and having received ration cards, these workers were turned away from fair price shops.
This gap persists despite a Supreme Court order issued on October 3, 2023, that directed states and Union Territories to integrate nearly 8 crore migrant and unorganised workers registered on the e-Shram portal into the food security net across the country. The apex court had then instructed states to issue ration cards and ensure their e-KYC is completed simultaneously, as reiterated in the Union government’s affidavit filed on February 12, 2024.
Officials from the food supply department in Ludhiana confirmed that the data of registered e-Shram workers was shared with the food department in May 2024. After this, area-wise surveys were conducted using Aadhaar and UAN details, with the assistance of ration depot holders, to complete the e-KYC of these workers. “Despite these directives, ration cards issued after the last quarterly cycle are yet to be reflected in the NIC’s e-PoS system,” they added.
Depot holders are also bearing the brunt of the confusion.“These e-Shram card holders were supposed to get wheat this season. However, their names are still not visible on the e-PoS machines. In the past five days, I have turned away 47 such beneficiaries despite their e-KYC being completed,” said Karamjit Singh Arechha, national assistant secretary and state president of the All-India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation.
Acknowledging the issue, Sartaj Singh Cheema, district food supplies controller (Ludhiana West) stated, “This is a statewide issue. The NIC has uploaded the data from the last quarter, which excludes recently verified e-Shram beneficiaries. We have already procured the extra wheat and issued ration cards to these individuals. The matter has been escalated to higher authorities. The moment data is updated; they will get their due.”
