BJP MLA alleges irregularities in Delhi's ration card issuance

The MLA said he will write to the chief minister seeking a White Paper on ration distribution over the past decade.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Harish Khurana on Monday flagged alleged irregularities in the issuance of ration cards in the Capital over the past decade, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party-led previous Delhi government of inadequate verification.

BJP MLA Harish Khurana addressing the media persons at Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

“For nearly ten years, ration cards were issued without any meaningful verification. The moment the process was subjected to scrutiny, large-scale irregularities surfaced,” he said.

The MLA said he will write to the chief minister seeking a White Paper on ration distribution over the past decade.

E-verification process of ration cards has been completed for 6.7 million beneficiaries out of the total 7.2 million, Khurana said, adding that 470,000 cards benefiting over 1.6 million residents were found to be spurious. Of these, 202,000 cards were found to be suspicious and have been cancelled while holders of the remaining 270,000 have been sent show cause notices.

Citing the data, the MLA said that 922,766 ration card applications were submitted in Delhi between 2014 and 2024. Of these, 6,038 cards were in the names of individuals who were found to be deceased, while 16,000 duplicates were detected. He further claimed that more than 144,000 cards were held by individuals with annual incomes exceeding ₹6 lakh.

Ration card eligibility in Delhi requires applicants to be residents of Delhi and a total annual family income of less than ₹6 lakh

“If those earning over ₹6 lakh are drawing subsidised ration, the needy people are bound to be pushed out,” Khurana said.

Following the verification exercise over the last two months, notices were sent to 276,000 beneficiaries through SMS, out of which 227 have responded so far, he said. According to the data shared by the MLA, 159,000 card holders own land and 2,700 cards were issued to GST-registered individuals with turnovers exceeding ₹25 lakh. Additionally, 16,064 duplicate ration cards were linked to beneficiaries in other states.

Addressing concerns over the verification process, Khurana said all Food Supply Offices were functioning and no authentic ration cards had been cancelled. “Not a single FSO has been closed. All offices are fully functional,” he said, adding that the process was being conducted under the National Food Security Act through district-level committees headed by district magistrates.