Haryana deletes 27 lakh ration cards in four years

Haryana has removed nearly 27.18 lakh ration cards from its beneficiary list in the past four years, with the sharpest spike in 2025 when 13.43 lakh cards were deleted. The state now has 41.83 lakh ration cards, down from over 51 lakh in October 2024. The data was furnished by Union minister Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya in a Lok Sabha reply on August 12 in response to Congress MP Shivaji Bandappa Kalge's query.

Hindustan Times reports that deletions rose from zero in 2021 to 1.96 lakh in 2022, then jumped to 8.50 lakh in 2023 and 3.29 lakh in 2024. In 2025, Haryana's tally more than quadrupled and was more than double that of Rajasthan, which deleted 6.05 lakh cards. Nationally, about 2.25 crore cards were deleted between 2021 and 2025.

The deletions are part of the evaluation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana to strengthen monitoring under the National Food Security Act. The government says the exercise aims to ensure rightful targeting of subsidised foodgrains and prevent duplication. A senior Haryana food department official told Hindustan Times that the Centre has advised states not to deny eligible households due to technical glitches and has provided alternative authentication mechanisms.