Soon, white ration card not to be mandatory for availing govt sops

Hyderabad: The State government is ready to bring a new policy for White Ration card distribution soon. The mandated rule of possessing white ration card to avail the welfare scheme benefits would no longer exist under the new policy. New guidelines will be framed to identify the eligible for new ration cards which are being used to avail the benefit of free rice scheme only.

The previous governments in the erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh and BRS government in Telangana state made it mandatory for possessing white ration card to avail every scheme benefit extended to the eligible persons and families. The new Congress-led state government has recently announced that white ration card is not required to avail the farm loan waiver benefit and also for Rajiv Arogyasri scheme cards which are being issued shortly to all people in the State.

The government has been asking the families to submit white ration cards to get fee reimbursement benefits for their children’s higher studies, to get housing sites, self employment scheme benefits etc.” Now, the government is contemplating scrapping the mandatory provision of having white ration cards to enjoy the government scheme benefits,” officials said that the new policy would come into force only after the cabinet sub-committee makes recommendations.

State Civil Supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the government was ready to issue new ration cards which would be valid for only availing subsidised rice at PDS centres (fair price shops). The cabinet sub-committee will formulate guidelines and eligibility criteria to get new ration cards. 90 lakh families were already given white ration cards. Under the new policy, eligible families will be identified and issued new ration cards as per the recommendations of the committee which also require cabinet approval before coming into the force.