Pilot scheme: Card holders, retailer wary
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The Aadhaar-card linked Direct Transfer of Cash Subsidy Scheme, to be im-plemented in the city from September, is leaving ration card holders and dealers worried. While people are anxious about purchasing essential commodities at market rates to claim the subsidy amount from the government later, the dealers are concerned about the possibility of their role being completely eliminated in the distribution of PDS co-mmodities in the long run and losing their commission now.
Hyderabad is one among the 50 districts across the country where the scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis this year. To start with, the scheme will distribute kerosene at 10 ration shops in Hydera-bad and 35 in East Godavari district. From September 1, ration card holders will have to purchase their quota of four litres per card per month at the market price of Rs 48 per litre. The government will later directly transfer the subsidy amount of Rs 132 into the card holder’s bank account as mentioned in the Aadhaar card. However, the poorest of the poor use kerosene in the city and questions are being asked over how they could afford to pay Rs 192 to purchase kerosene at market rates. There are about 7.26 lakh white card holders in the city and as per official estimates, nearly half of them are yet to open bank accounts.
Despite the civil supplies department issuing directions to all the dealers to collect Aadhaar and bank account details of ration card holders in the city, they haven’t done so, saying that many have yet to enroll for Aadhaar cards and open bank accounts. Meanwhile, civil supplies minister D. Sridhar Babu attempted to bring clarity by saying the scheme was aimed to bring accountability into the whole process and to check misuse of highly subsidised essential commodities.
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