Bengaluru, Jun 5 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has ordered the Food and Civil Supplies Department to cancel all illegal ration cards.
"Government employees and owners of tractors and other vehicles must return the Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards immediately, failing which stringent legal action would be initiated," Yediyurappa instructed the officials on Thursday.
Speaking at a review meeting of the Food and Civil Supplies department, he said proper supply of ration must be ensured to eligible beneficiaries and action should be taken to prevent the misuse.
He instructed the officials to initiate a campaign to root out all illegal ration cards.
"This campaign would help in curtailing the financial burden of the state's reserves," he said.
Before Covid-19 struck, as many as 63,000 ration cards were cancelled.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa has said that Rs 240 crore has been released under the support price scheme as a recurring deposit to clear the pending payments to farmers.
Likewise, under chief minister's Anila Bhagya scheme, 98,079 beneficiaries have been given three gas cylinders free of cost.
As 53 godowns of the department are in a dilapidated condition, construction of 95 modern godowns with a capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes has been taken up under the public private partnership model.
The Chief Minister has directed the officials to speed up the construction.