Distribution of Ration Cards to Tea Workers

As part of its efforts to bring the estates under the purview of the public distribution system (PDS), the state food department has started the process of distributing ration cards to tea workers of north Bengal.

The Union food ministry has given the state six months to launch the PDS in the gardens. During this period, Food Corporation of India will continue to provide the estates with foodgrain at subsidised rates for distribution among workers.

“Ration cards will be distributed among the workers and their families in the tea estates,” said state food minister Paresh Adhikary here today.

“There are problems, like identifying casual workers who, unlike permanent workers, do not have any identity proof, or those labourers who used to serve in closed and abandoned estates and are now engaged in odd jobs,” the minister said. “We need to trace them.”
Adhikary said his department will issue BPL ration cards to workers of closed tea estates, though a decision about the permanent and casual workers has not yet been taken.

On a different issue, the minister said subdivisional officers have been entrusted with the task of clearing the more than 4 lakh applications for ration cards submitted by people residing within 15 km of the Indo-Bangla border. The move has been initiated to speed up the process. At the moment, the applications are lying at the offices of the district magistrates of ten north Bengal districts.

Source: The Telegraph, India