As many as 43 lakh family cards have been cancelled by Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) due to gross irregularities.
During the process of converting handwritten cards into smart family cards, these cards were excluded after verification of the National ID cards.
However, it could not be possible to convert all cards into smart cards due to various complexities. So, the TCB is still selling goods on the basis of the old handwritten cards.
TCB spokesman Humayun Kabir stated it at a press conference held at TCB's regional office at Tejgaon in the capital on Saturday.
Humayun Kabir revealed that when one crore handwritten cards were integrated with NIDs, it was found that some people used the same NIDs to acquire a card in Dhaka and another card in their village homes.
As a result, when we started verifying with the NID cards, then 43 lakh cards were excluded.
He also said more than one member in a family are receiving goods among the one crore family cards. In absence of administration or public representatives at local level, it cannot be monitored whether the goods are reaching at the consumer level properly.
In order to address these issues, Humayun Kabir said, "We have initiated process so that each family doesn't get more than one card."
So far, 57 lakh smart family cards have been issued.
TCB has sent four requests to the district administrations and city corporations to process the remaining cards.
However, recent administrative reshuffles in the district administrations have delayed the identification of these cards.
He further said five TCB goods -- edible oil, gram, sugar, date and lentil -- will be sold during the holy month of Ramadan. Outside the city corporations, four goods will be sold, except date. More than 24,000 people will be able to purchase goods from trucks in Dhaka and outside Dhaka without cards. Each truck will sell goods which will meet the requirements of 350 people.
