Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Ration cardholders in Goa who do not collect their monthly foodgrain quota for six consecutive months will face temporary suspension of benefits under a new measure introduced by the Civil Supplies Department.
The policy, implemented from October 1 under the SMART Public Distribution System (SMART-PDS), follows the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Amendment Order, 2025, and directions issued by the Centre.
As per the department’s notification, officials will identify ration cards without a recorded ration collection transaction for six consecutive months on the 21st of each month. The cards flagged during this exercise will be deactivated from the first day of the subsequent month.
Although such cards will continue to appear in the system, their holders will not be able to collect ration during the suspension period. The department will also stop allocating foodgrains against these cards until the required procedures are completed.
Families affected by the action will have three months from the date of deactivation to complete e-KYC for every household member and undergo the prescribed verification. Those who fail to meet the requirements within this period risk having their ration cards deleted from the system.
The department has also included cases involving duplicate beneficiaries detected through Aadhaar-based data matching with the Central Repository. The checks will cover possible duplication within Goa as well as between Goa and other states.
Beneficiaries identified in this category will have their cards temporarily deactivated and will receive an SMS notification addressed to the head of the household. They must then complete the e-KYC process and provide supporting documents for verification within three months.
The revised procedure is intended to help authorities identify inactive and duplicate ration cards and improve the monitoring of beneficiaries receiving subsidised foodgrains under the public distribution system.
