Karnataka is currently undertaking a massive verification drive targeting over 7.7 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards. These cards, flagged by the Union government as potentially fraudulent or duplicated, are being scrutinized by state authorities to identify and remove ineligible beneficiaries.
However, this initiative has inadvertently cast a shadow of worry over many truly needy families. Numerous genuine cardholders are now facing immense stress, grappling with the fear of losing essential benefits, even though their eligibility is legitimate.
The state government’s primary goal in this intensified crackdown is to eliminate fraudulent cards and ineligible recipients, aiming to dismantle the corrupt nexus between fair price shop owners and those who facilitate the creation of fake identification.
A senior official from the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs revealed that food inspectors are currently concentrating solely on the list provided by the Union government. “This list comprises individuals suspected of holding bogus or duplicate cards. The state is meticulously verifying each case before any notices are issued or cards are cancelled,” the source explained.
This extensive list of potential wrongful beneficiaries impacts the entire state, falling under the purview of 20,000 fair price shops and overseen by 200 food inspectors. Authorities are particularly prioritizing the identification of roughly 70,000 duplicate and fake cards within the larger 7.71 lakh flagged accounts.
The official further elaborated, “These 70,000 suspicious cards often indicate individuals possessing multiple BPL cards, either within Karnataka or across different states. We are conducting thorough technical and, where necessary, manual verifications for these cases.” They added that if a family is genuinely eligible despite holding duplicate cards, one card is being cancelled while the other is retained, based on their official residency.
Challenges in Implementation
Despite these efforts, activists are highlighting significant flaws in the implementation. The department is cross-referencing data from the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) to identify families with annual incomes exceeding the ₹1.2 lakh BPL eligibility threshold. Additionally, local body records are used to flag families owning vehicles, automatically reclassifying them as Above Poverty Line (APL). Alarmingly, many BPL cardholders report that technical issues preventing them from receiving rations for over three months have led to their cards being unfairly converted to APL status.
A local activist criticized this methodology, stating, “This approach is fundamentally flawed.” They questioned the outdated income ceiling: “Many families earn just over ₹12,000 monthly, an amount barely enough to cover daily expenses. The current income limit was set in the mid-2010s; how can it possibly remain relevant for cancelling cards today, given the soaring inflation?”
These systemic flaws are already having severe impacts on real families. Kamalamma, a 60-year-old from west Bengaluru, received a cancellation notice because the combined income of her three sons surpassed the BPL threshold. “My sons live independently and don’t contribute to my expenses, yet their earnings are aggregated,” she lamented. In a similar vein, many cab drivers’ families have been issued notices, incorrectly assuming they own the vehicles they operate.
Elderly citizens are also encountering significant difficulties, particularly those whose worn fingerprints are no longer recognized by biometric authentication systems. Despite government directives for ration shops to conduct doorstep verifications and deliver rations to such individuals, activists contend that this directive is often poorly executed. Consequently, families unable to physically collect their rations are being unjustly reclassified as APL.
Departmental Responses
Department officials stated that five dedicated teams have been deployed for field visits to evaluate the on-ground situation during this verification campaign. While acknowledging that errors in deletion or addition could arise from technical issues, they assured that affected families can appeal to their local tahsildar with supporting documents to be reinstated on the BPL list.
The same source also confirmed warnings of “disciplinary action against food inspectors found intentionally removing eligible families from the list.” Nevertheless, officials conceded that the current appeals process is burdensome for the most impoverished households, for whom timely access to monthly rations is critical. This highlights the urgent need for a more dependable system to prevent the unfair exclusion of deserving families.