Aadhaar-ration card seeding: Deadline extended

Guwahati: The Central Government extended the deadline for Aadhaar card-ration card seeding up to June 30, 2022, so did Dispur.

Earlier, the Centre had set the deadline of March 31, 2022, to complete the ration card-Aadhaar card seeding. The State Government had also set the March 25 deadline earlier for the department to complete the ration card-Aadhaar card seeding.

Talking to The Sentinel, an official of the Directorate of Food and Civil Supplies said, "The Centre extended the deadline for Aadhaar card-ration card seeding by two months from March 31 to June 30, 2022. The State government also extended its deadline of March 25 by two months. Thus ration cardholders who have not done their Aadhaar card-ration card seeding yet will continue to get the benefits of schemes at least for another two months. However, they will have to get their ration card-Aadhaar card seeding done in these two months to get scheme benefits after June 30, 2022.

"The Aadhaar card-ration card linking will ensure each beneficiary to get his/her due share of food grains."

It is the third extension of Aadhaar card-ration card seeding by the Central Government. The earlier deadlines set by the Centre for Aadhaar card-ration card seeding were March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021.

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department has not yet linked the details of around 71 per cent of ration card beneficiaries with their Aadhaar card details. The progress of ration card-Aadhaar card linkage in the state is dismal.

When asked about the delay, an official of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs earlier said, "Hurdles are many. The poor internet networks and servers remaining down in rural areas affect the progress. The e-pos (electronic point of sale) machines given to fair price shops need ration card-Aadhaar linkage. We cannot do it as servers remain down in rural areas most of the time. In most cases, the spelling of names and titles of the ration card beneficiaries differ from the ones mentioned in their Aadhaar cards. It is a major hurdle in setting the linkage. The spelling errors need correction before setting the linkage between the details of Aadhaar cards and ration cards."

The state has 58,88,169 ration cardholders comprising 2,50,56,282 beneficiaries. Till February-end, the department has linked the details of only 71,33,198 ration card beneficiaries with their Aadhaar card details.

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