More than 5.5 lakh beneficiaries have been removed from Bihar’s ration card rolls following a large-scale verification, according to a report by The Indian Express. The exercise involved matching beneficiary records with electoral data prepared during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, along with separate field-level checks by the government.
Bihar Food and Consumer Protection Minister Ashok Choudhary stated to The Indian Express that 97.56 percent of the exercise has been completed. “Out of 8,19,888 cards that were flagged, 5,57,278 were marked for deletion, whereas 2,59, 197 were marked for retention,” he said.
As per the state government data as cited by the newspaper, Bihar has around 1.79 crore ration card holders.
Reason for the deletion
The deletions were related to deaths, duplication, non-compliance with mandatory KYC requirements, migration, and income-based ineligibility. As per the report, the deaths, duplication and migration accounted for around 99 per cent of the deletions identified during the exercise.
How SIR data is being used in Bihar
Bihar has been using SIR-linked data as part of a broader effort to identify potentially ineligible beneficiaries under the welfare schemes. Sub-divisional magistrates across the state’s 38 districts have been reportedly directed to display lists of cancelled ration cards.
According to a senior official quoted by The Indian Express, information collected during house-to-house verification drives is being synchronised across government databases. When an individual’s name is flagged in electoral records because of death, long-term migration or ineligibility, the information is shared with the Food and Consumer Protection Department for further verification.
The Indian Express also cited a Centre-directed verification exercise that found out around 94.71 lakh ration beneficiaries across the country were taxpayers, 5.31 lakh were company directors and 17.51 lakh owned four-wheelers. States were asked to conduct field verification and remove ineligible beneficiaries from the National Food Security Act (NFSA) rolls.
SC backs SIR, clarifies Aadhaar and ration card status
The development comes days after the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission’s authority to conduct the SIR of electoral rolls, according to PTI.
In its May 27 judgment, the court said the exercise “advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections” and upheld the Election Commission’s documentation framework.
A key part of the ruling dealt with Aadhaar. The court observed that “the statutory framework governing the Aadhaar Card does not treat it as proof of citizenship or domicile”, and therefore the Election Commission was justified in not treating it as a primary document for establishing voter eligibility.
The bench also backed the poll body’s decision to exclude ration cards from the prescribed list of SIR documents, noting that “a Ration Card, unlike a Passport or a Birth Certificate, is certainly not a conclusive proof of citizenship.” At the same time, it directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as an additional document for identity verification.
SIR expands across states
The Election Commission is expanding the SIR exercise beyond Bihar. According to a PIB release issued on May 14, Phase III of the revision will cover 16 states and three Union Territories, involving over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who will conduct house-to-house verification of 36.73 crore electors.
The exercise has already begun in states such as Odisha and Sikkim. According to PTI, more than 45,000 BLOs started door-to-door surveys across Odisha on May 30, while enumeration under the SIR also commenced in Sikkim the same day.