Remove ineligible beneficiaries under PDS only after thorough verification, says Joshi

Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has said that the Union government has instructed State governments to verify beneficiaries under the public distribution system (PDS) and remove ineligible ones but only after thorough verification.

Speaking to presspersons after participating in a cleanliness drive to mark the 75th birthday celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hubballi on Wednesday, Mr. Joshi said that the instructions have been issued from the Union government as it has been found that there are many ineligible beneficiaries across the country.

“However, the process should be done using technological tools. If the authority is given to some official, then chances are that they may harass people. And, there should be no discrimination while removing ineligible beneficiaries,” he said.

Mr. Joshi clarified that he is not outrightly opposing the removal of beneficiaries from the list but is only opposed to removing eligible beneficiaries from the list. Moreover, the criteria for removal of beneficiaries will be fixed by State governments and not the Union government, he clarified.

He also said that no direction has been issued for removal of names of those filing income tax returns. Any decision in this regard should be taken by State governments, he said and added that they have issued a direction for revision, as it is mandatory to conduct revision every five years.

Mr. Joshi said that to mark the birthday celebrations of the Prime Minister the cleanliness drive is being held across the country, as Mr. Narendra Modi does not have the habit of celebrating his birthday. The cleanliness campaign will continue till October 2, he said.

Mr. Joshi subsequently took part in various programmes to mark the birthday celebrations of the Prime Minister at various places in Dharwad district.