Hyderabad: The joy of applying for new ration cards was short lived for people as the state government withdrew its orders directing Meeseva centres to accept the applications from people.
On Friday, the Telangana government issued a memo to enable the MeeSeva centres to accept new Food Security or ration card applications across the state.
The district collectors across Telangana have been informed that apart from MeeSeva centres, applications for new Food Security cards or the addition of new members to the document could be collected through Praja Palana Seva Kendras (PPSKs).
The memo, signed by the Commissioner of Civil Supplies, instructed ESD MeeSeva to activate services across centers in Telangana. The directive aims to ensure that only eligible applicants receive Food Security Cards while preventing duplicate applications.
MeeSeva centers in Telangana to begin accepting new ration card applications
The state informatics officer, NIC, has been directed to enable the web service of the ration card database to Meeseva to enable ration card applications through the centres.
Hours later, the orders were withdrawn and the link provided to the Meeseva was withdrawn at 7 am on Saturday. Due to the communication gap, a lot of confusion prevailed among the Meeseva operators and common citizens who after waiting desperately for weeks started trooping at the Meeseva centre to apply for a new ration card.
The MeeSeva management turned people away, stating that the web service at the Falaknuma center had been withdrawn in the morning following orders from senior officials, as per the National Informatics Centre.
“We were communicated through a text message. We don’t know when the service will be reinstated or not,” said the operator.
An official said for the time being the people should approach the Praja Palana Seva Kendras (PPSKs) and apply for new ration cards.
Last year the State government launched 30 PPSKs in GHMC limits. It is to be seen if the PPSKs can handle the rush.
Telangana currently has 89.96 lakh ration cards covering 281.70 lakh units. Of these, 35.51 lakh are state-issued cards, while the remaining 54.45 lakh are National Food Security Act (NFSA) cards. Eligibility for Food Security Cards (FSC) is based on income, land ownership, and specific vulnerabilities.
