Over 5,000 govt staff with BPL cards, market price of rice to be recovered from them

BENGALURU: The Food and Civil Supplies Department, which is undertaking a drive to weed out ineligible BPL (Below Poverty Line) card-holders, had detected, 5,000 government employees with the card. The department now plans to levy fines on them.

The individuals/families, who earlier had BPL cards, had not removed their names from the list after getting government employment. The Food and Civil Supplies Department now plans to recover the cost of rice they had availed from PDS shops from them as fine.

Sources said that the government employees found having BPL cards will have to pay the market price for the quantity of rice they have procured from rations shops from the time they joined government service, even if it is a few months. Notices will first be issued to the employees after which the fine will be collected.