Pune: PMC Uncovers 1,600 Fake Ration Cards in Urban Poor Health Scheme
Pune, 13th April 2023: A shocking incident has come to light revealing that as many as 1,600 ration cards with an income record of less than Rs one lakh have been lying with the Health Department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) since last year.
According to Additional Commissioner Ravindra Binwade, no one came to collect the ration card after the Urban Poor Health Scheme was made available online by the Municipal Corporation. Therefore, it has come to light that fake ration cards and income proofs are being submitted for the said scheme.
The Urban Poor Scheme has been available online since last year and therefore, the necessary documents for this scheme have to be submitted online. The municipality then verifies these documents and registers the concerned member.
However, before starting this online service, the Municipal Corporation had made it mandatory for the concerned members to have a ration card with an income record of less than Rs one lakh and an income certificate.
Accordingly, citizens had to submit both documents, but often, as a matter of urgency, they asked the municipal council member to extract the income certificate. As a result, the ration card of the concerned citizen was kept with the Health Department until the receipt was submitted. As soon as the citizen submitted the certificate, the ration card was returned.
Meanwhile, the municipality issued a treatment letter to the relatives so that the treatment of the concerned patient did not stop. However, during this process, the citizen was expected to carry the ration card with proof of income. Unfortunately, many cards disappeared after receiving the letter, and as a result, around 1,600 ration cards are lying with the Municipal Corporation.
Ravindra Binwade, Additional Municipal Commissioner, said, “In the absence of proof of income, the Municipal Corporation was keeping the ration card and issuing a treatment letter so that citizens who applied for the certificate should not be inconvenienced. However, no one has come to collect these ration cards. Therefore, the cards have been deposited with the Health Department. A decision regarding the cards will be made soon. However, in view of this, the possibility that many have submitted bogus ration cards cannot be ruled out.”
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