Bogus ration cards

Ahmedabad:The Gujarat high court on Tuesday issued notices to the secretary of food and civil supplies, food controller of Ahmedabad and the district collector over bogus ration cards after a petition filed by chief minister Narendra Modi’s brother Prahlad.
Prahlad Modi heads the Gujarat Fair Price Shop and Licence Holder Association which questioned the civil supply department’s order to the shop owners to furnish list of bogus ration cards.
The association, that has nearly 25,000 members, moved the high court after the food controller issued a circular last month and then a notice asking shop owners to submit list of bogus ration cards. The circular has also threatened penal action against shop owners who do not comply with the authority’s order to furnish details.
The association has contended that a fair price shop owner is not legally empowered to issue ration cards. So, if the shop owner does not have the authority, how can he furnish a list of bogus ration cards to the authorities. The association has dubbed the circular as illegal and has demanded that it should be quashed.
In its petition, the association has also expressed concern over the issuance of bogus ration cards, and stated that it has sought a CBI probe into the scam.
It was also submitted that following the circular, the authorities have started registering criminal complaints against some of the fair-price shop owners for non-compliance of the impugned circular. After the preliminary hearing of the petition, justice Abhilasha Kumari issued notice to the authorities seeking their reply on September 5.