Big relief for ration card holders: Now the card will not be canceled on the death of the head, ration will continue on the same number.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department has implemented an important and sensitive decision for crores of ration card holders and poor families across the country. In the system till now, in case of sudden death of the main cardholder (head) of the family, the ration card was considered canceled or the distribution of ration was stopped by the Kotedar. After this, the dependent families had to visit government offices, tehsil and public service centers for months to get a new ration card made, due to which many times the free and cheap ration of the eligible families was stopped for months.

The Ministry of Food and Public Distribution and the food logistics departments of the state governments have completely abolished this complex system. Under the new rules, on the death of the head of the family, the ration card will not be automatically canceled, rather the name of the other eligible member of the family will be registered as ‘New Head of Family’ on the same old ration card number. With this, the unit number of the family will be safe and there will not be a single day’s interruption in the supply of food grains under the Ration Distribution System (PDS).

The selection of the new head in the ration card is not arbitrary, but there are clear guidelines for this under the National Food Security Act (NFSA 2013):

• First priority to the senior most woman in the family: Under the Food Security Act, with the aim of promoting women empowerment, only the senior most female member of the family aged 18 years or above is made the head of the ration card. If the deceased head was already a woman, then the second senior-most female member of the family (such as daughter-in-law, daughter or sister) will automatically be eligible for the post of head.

• If there is no adult woman in the family: If there is no female member above 18 years of age present in the family of the deceased, the senior most male member of the family will be made the new head.

• Automatic changes when the female member attains adulthood: If at present there are only minor daughters or children in the family, then in that case, until the eldest girl child completes the age of 18 years, the card will be operated in the name of an adult male guardian and as soon as the head completes 18 years, there will be an option to automatically transfer the rights of the head in the name of that girl.

• It is mandatory to have the name of the member already entered in the card: The most important condition for becoming a new head is that the name of that person should already be registered as an active member in the family list (Family Unit List) of the same ration card.

Before applying for name transfer on the Food Department portal, the applicant must keep ready clear copies of the following valid documents:

• Death Certificate: Official death certificate (original and self-attested copy) of the deceased head issued by the Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Gram Panchayat.

• Original Ration Card: Photocopy of existing ration card containing details of all family units.

• Aadhaar card of the proposed new head: Aadhaar card of the member becoming the new head (which has correct name, date of birth and address).

• Active mobile number linked to Aadhaar: Active mobile number for application verification and OTP based authentication.

• Copy of bank passbook: First page of passbook of active nationalized or rural bank account in the name of the new head or canceled check (for DBT and subsidy).

• Family Consent Form/Self-Declaration: Family consent form attested by village head/secretary in rural areas or councilor/ward councilor in urban areas.

Due to Digital India and modernization of food security portals, citizens can now apply online from the comfort of their homes or through the nearest Common Service Center (CSC / Sahaj Jan Seva Kendra):

1. Visit the official food portal of the state: First of all, go to the official website of the Food and Logistics Department of your state (like fcs.up.gov.in for Uttar Pradesh, epds.bihar.gov.in for Bihar, or national portal nfsa.gov.in).

2. Login to Citizen Corner: Click on the ‘Ration Card Amendment/Citizen Services’ option given on the portal and login by entering OTP using the mobile number linked to your ration card.

3. Select ‘Head Change/Amendment’ option: On the dashboard you will see the option of ‘Amendment in Ration Card’ or ‘Selection of new head in place of deceased head’, click on it.

4. Fill details and reason of deceased: Select the name of the deceased head, select the cause of death and enter the serial number and date of the death certificate issued by the Municipal Body/Panchayat and upload its scanned copy.

5. Selection of new chief and details updated: From the list of existing family members, select the senior woman or member who is to be the new head. After this verify the bank account number, IFSC code and Aadhaar details of the new head.

6. Final submit through OTP: Final submit the form by entering the OTP received on the mobile linked to the Aadhaar of the new head.

7. Keep the receipt safe: As soon as the form is submitted, a 12 or 14 digit ‘Application Reference Number’ will be generated, download it and take a print out so that the status can be tracked in future.

If there is a problem of internet connectivity in any area or there is a technical hurdle in the online application, then this work can be easily done through offline means also:

• Applicants should obtain ‘Form-B’ (amendment application form) from the fair price seller (ration dealer) of their area or from the Regional Food and Supply Office (ARO / Supply Office) located in the block / tehsil.

• Fill the name of the deceased head, name of the new head and details of family members in clear letters in the form.

• Attach the death certificate, copy of ration card and self-attested copy of the new head’s Aadhar card and bank passbook with the form.

• Submit the filled application form to your nearest Regional Supply Inspector or District Supply Officer (DSO) office and get the official Acknowledgment Receipt from there.

• The application is filed online by the Supply Inspector on his departmental portal within two working days, after which the report is sent to the District Supply Officer after physical verification by the Block Development Officer (BDO) in rural areas and Executive Officer (EO) in urban areas.

Under the Right to Service Act, the Food and Logistics Department provides maximum 15 to 21 business days The deadline has been set. The digitally signed revised ration card with the name of the new head gets updated in the system within 3 days of approval of the report by the District Supply Officer (DSO).

Cardholders can instantly download a copy of the e-ration card from their mobile through ‘Mera Ration’ mobile app or the state portal. After this, by informing the concerned ration dealer, food grains can be obtained uninterruptedly from the same month.

In many cases, it is seen that even after the death of a member or head of the family, the family members do not inform the department for a long time and continue to avail the benefit of 5 kg additional grain or Antyodaya quota available in the name of the deceased.

The Food Department has given a clear warning against lifting cheap or free food grains in the name of any dead person. Essential Commodities Act and PDS Control Order It is a cognizable and illegal offense under IPC. If a case of withdrawal of food grains in the name of a deceased is detected during Aadhaar based e-KYC and biometric verification, then:

• The ration card will be blocked or blacklisted with immediate effect.

• Compound recovery will be done at the market rate of the entire ration taken from the date of death till now.

• Legal punitive action can be taken against the guilty family members by registering an FIR under relevant sections of fraud.

Therefore, in case of death of the head of the family or any member, the family members should complete the process of name deletion or head transfer by uploading the death certificate on the portal within 30 days, so that the legitimate rights of other family members remain protected without any hindrance.