Issual of ration cards yet to fully materialise

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent decision of the UDF Government to issue laminated ration cards on the same day of receipt of  its application was hailed as an innovative step and a grand  concept of the UDF Government.However,  even after weeks of the official proclamation conducted with much hype,  the objective is yet to to be achieved with the Civil Supplies Department confining the exercise to just a day in a week.Barring Wednesdays,  the objective of getting a ration card in a day has proved elusive. Reports fom all over the state indicates that the promise of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Food and Civil Supplies Minister T M Jacob was yet to be fulfilled as the officials of the Civil Supplies Department are burdened with heavy work,  according to highly placed sources.The initiative was announced at the end of the 100 days action programme of the Oommen Chandy Government recently.Under this policy,  ration cards will first be issued  on the basis of supporting documents and will be cancelled later, in case there is some discrepancy. According to a Civil Supplies Department senior official, who preferred anonymity, receiving applications and issuing ration cards on the same day was  a Herculean task. If special attention is paid only to the distribution of ration cards,  then other jobs will definitely be affected in the department, he said. The applications for surrendering the ration card or deducting names in the card can be immediately addressed, but other requests including change in the ownership of the card and inclusion of new names can be done only after conducting proper inquiry which demands time, sources said.Thiruvananthapuram Taluk Supply Officer B Vijayakumar speaking to ‘Express’ admitted that the applications were taken up only on Wednesdays. “Around 500-700 applications are received on Wednesdays.  Out of this, more than 130 are meant for surrendering cards or deducting names.  These applications are readily addressed and the new cards are provided within a few hours. The rest are bunched aside for further scrutiny and investigation.  But the entire procedure gets capped up in one or twodays. Applications submitted on the other days can also be taken up if adequate staff is available and the need of the applicants is genuine,” he said.