Some activists have complained that the State government has stopped accepting applications for below-poverty-line ration cards, and have urged the government to allow fresh applications.
“It is causing great inconvenience to farmers who are dependent on the cards for other schemes,’‘ Sidagouda Modagi, Bharatiya Krishik Samaj leader, said. “For example, a farmer may be eligible for a free irrigation pump set, but he will not be able to use it as he can not get a fresh BPL card,’‘ he said. We have written to the government to restart the issue of new BPL cards. The government should realise that being poor is a dynamic phenomenon. A family that is well-to-do today, may slip into poverty because the breadwinner lost his job or a flood destroyed their crop. Hence, it is important to keep the window of applying for BPL cards should be kept open always, he said.
