Bengaluru: The State government has decided to issue below poverty line (BPL) ration cards to taxi drivers too, by taking into account socio-economic conditions.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader said a large number of taxi drivers had been facing severe financial difficulties, particularly with the rising cost of living in urban areas. It was decided to amend the existing rules to provide BPL ration cards to taxi drivers also, he said.
Already, the State has more than 1.1 crore families having BPL ration cards. Moreover, both APL and BPL families have to apply for ration cards online at http://ahara.kar.nic.in/, Minister Khader said.
The minister said that over 10 lakh BPL families had applied for ration cards, and now, they had to reapply by linking their Aadhaar cards.
This is because the department had reduced the criteria for submitting applications for BPL cards from 14 to five — no member in the family should be a government employee and income tax payee; the family should not own a four-wheeler; the family should not own more than seven acres of land; and a house in an urban area should not be spread over more than 1,000 sq ft.
