‘12.5 lakh digital ration cards issued in Uttarakhand’

DEHRADUN: Food and civil supplies minister Rekha Arya told the House that 12.58 lakh new digital ration cards have been issued to the beneficiaries in the hill state. She acknowledged that due to recent assembly polls and the second wave of Covid, the printing and distribution of the new ration cards were hampered.
While 13.46 lakh ration cards were to be made, so far, only 12.58 lakh have been distributed and the others are being printed.The highest number of 2.38 lakh ration cards were distributed in Udham Singh Nagar, followed by 2.05 lakh in Dehradun. The printing and distribution of ration cards is expected to be over by July 2022, she said.
Under the state government’s ‘No to ineligible-Yes to eligible’ campaign against bogus ration card holders, as many as 58,374 card holders have voluntarily surrendered their ration cards made under primary family (38,873), antyodaya (4,820) and state food schemes (14,681). People who are yet to receive digital ration cards, “they can meet the authorities concerned and the required assistance will be given to them,” she said.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand transport minister Chandan Ram Das told the House on Wednesday that the state's transport corporation had incurred a loss of Rs 595 crore since its inception in 2003. He said that the government was “trying its best to make the corporation profitable.” He was replying to a question posed by Congress MLA Pritam Singh. The minister added that the state was also aiming to improve earnings through advertisements, courier services, and the use of CNG-fitted buses. Besides, the work style in the corporation was being "modernised" with an aim to improve overall performance, he said.
In a reply to another question, the minister apprised the House that the government was earning Rs 3 crore each year through advertisement campaigns.
Besides, the state saved Rs 1.5 crore through CNG-fitted buses, which are operating on a contractual basis.