Linking Aadhaar with ration cards results in 50 lakh gap in beneficiary number, says Assam CM

Centre likely to sign peace accord with Assam’s Adivasi militant groups in September: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the Government has found a gap of around 50 lakh beneficiaries after linking Aadhaar cards with ration cards across the State.

"After the linking exercise, we have found that around 50 lakh beneficiaries have not come (for the service). Some people might have died and some might have moved to other places due to marriages. Unfortunately, there were some fake ones also," Mr. Sarma said.

Addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting in Kokrajhar, he said the government is going to save a good amount of money for these unaccounted beneficiaries and accordingly add genuine people to the list.

"We will bring a set of new 50 lakh people under the ambit of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Today's cabinet discussed all these points," he added.

Mr. Sarma also informed reporters that around 62,000 people were found to be ineligible for its flagship Arunodoi scheme, while around 2,000 have voluntarily given up the benefits of the programme.

The State Government provides monthly monetary assistance of ₹1,250 to the beneficiaries under the scheme which currently covers nearly 20 lakh families.

"The Arunodoi month is getting over on September 20. We will know the exact number of exclusions then only. I hope one lakh new beneficiaries will be added in place of the exclusions," he added.