Aadhar should be made mandatory, says Madhya Pradesh food minister

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) : Two days after a minor girl in Jharkhand allegedly died of starvation as her family did not have Aadhar-linked ration card, Madhya Pradesh food minister Om Prakash Dhurve on Thursday said the Aadhar should be made mandatory.

"This is a sad incident, this should not have happened and it will not happen in Madhya Pradesh. But we have to understand that aadhar card is mandatory for many things and so it is important to mandate it," Dhurve told ANI.

Dhurva also said his government is also working to ensure every person in the state has an Aadhar card.

"It has not been mandated yet, but we are still working that everybody's aadhar card is made," he said.

He also said the state was preparing a list of people without Aadhar card so that the ration could be sent to them manually.

"We have given an order that a list be made of people without Aadhar so that we can send them ration manually. We have instructed the collector and shops to do so as well," Dhurve added.

An 11-year-old girl allegedly died of starvation in Jharkhand's Simdega District recently, as her family's ration card was not linked to the Aadhaar, the 12 digit unique-identity number, issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data.

The girl died on September 28 after her mother was unable to feed her. The family was struck off from government welfare rolls for not linking their ration card with the Aadhaar card.

"Went to get rice, but I was told that no ration will be given to me. My daughter died saying 'Bhat-bhat' (rice)," the girl's mother, Koyli Devi, said on Monday.

The state of Jharkhand is regarded as being among the poorest in India. It is being alleged that millions of people in the state have been struck off the ration card rolls because they are not Aadhaar linked.