Bengaluru: The State government has decided to simplify eligibility criteria for submitting applications as well as seeking below poverty line ration cards for households. It also proposes to give BPL cards to cancer and dialysis patients owing to high cost of treatment of the diseases.

The parameters for identifying eligible BPL card families will be reduced from 14 criteria to just four so that ration cards will go to eligible beneficiaries without hassles and will weed out bogus ration cards by linking them with the Aadhaar.

The Government Order issued in August 2013 lists 14 criteria to identify those ineligible under the scheme such as income tax payers, government employees, doctors, accountants, merchants or businessmen, those who possess three hectares of land, employees of aided and unaided schools, those paying electricity bills averaging Rs. 450 a month, those who posses any vehicle with engine capacity of more than 100 cc, except autorickshaw.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies U.T. Khader, who chaired a meeting with department officials on Wednesday, said simplification of eligibility criteria would ease disposal of over 10 lakh pending applications. All pending applications would be cleared in the next three months. The new four parameters would be made public after obtaining Cabinet approval, he said.

Food coupons

Already, there are 1.36 crore ration cardholders in the State and of them 27.15 lakh are APL cardholders. He said after enactment of the National Food Security Act, the Centre has been releasing 2.17 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the State every month. It was decided to issue coupons to BPL cardholders at BangaloreOne centres to procure kerosene and foodgrains from ration shops, he said.