Hyderabad: The Telangana government is preparing for a sweeping purge of its public distribution system, planning to cancel more than 15 lakh bogus ration cards through a mandatory e-KYC verification drive. With nearly 90 lakh ration cards currently in circulation, officials suspect a significant chunk of them are fake or no longer valid, leading to a drain on the state’s welfare resources.
In a bid to clean up its database and ensure fair distribution of benefits, the government has directed all cardholders to complete e-KYC verification within a specified timeframe. Cards failing to meet this requirement will be deactivated. Only those whose records are validated through the Citizen 360 database will retain their benefits.
Officials say the move is critical to plugging leakages that have long plagued the system. Bogus ration cards, they explain, siphon off subsidies meant for families who genuinely need support. This undermines trust in the scheme and strains public finances.
If the current pace of compliance continues, more than 15 lakh cards could be cancelled, reshaping the beneficiary landscape. Authorities are urging cardholders to complete the process without delay, highlighting that future ration cards will be issued only after digital verification.
This exercise, one of the state’s largest digital audits, is intended to ensure that the right people receive the benefits. For the government, it’s about restoring accountability and rebuilding faith in the ration delivery system.