Is a ration card valid proof of identity or residence in Mumbai

The expose carried out by the MNS showing how easily a bogus ration card can be obtained nails the lie of proponents who insist that the ration card is a valid document for proving residence and identity. It is a known fact that politicians and builders connive with the rationing officer and the collector’s office for issuing of bogus ration cards. Every election sees a spurt in the issue of fake ration cards for obtaining voter identity cards. Builders connive to get bogus people into the list of people entitled for flats under the SRA scheme by using fake ration cards. Since 2001 the RBI and the central consumer affairs ministry have discouraged the use of ration cards as documents to prove residence or identity due to its easy procurement by paying a price.

The Chief Justice of the High Court in Mumbai, Mr. Swatanter Kumar was shown a ration card issued in his name with a Shivaji Park address by the MNS representative! This was genuinely issued by the rationing officer for a price, thereby emphasizing to the Court that it is easy to obtain a fake ration card. This dramatic course was taken up to emphasise that the ration card should not be used as an identity/residence proof document for registering new voters for the forthcoming state elections.

In the past, it has been reported that in Andhra Pradesh fake ration cards were issued in the names of Sachin Tendulkar and Sania Mirza. In 2005, during local elections in Navi Mumbai more than 80000 bogus ration cards were seized. This is a nation wide problem which needs to be tackled on a war footing. The proposed National Identity Card and Mr. Nandan Nilekani’s plan to generate a unique national citizens identity number should ensure that all parameters are checked to prove the identity of the individual before allotting the number. This has national security implications and the people responsible for allotting this number should have integrity of the highest standard and should be above reproach – no political interference should be tolerated. If identities cannot be proved, then such cases should be given to a special task force to see whether such people are illegal immigrants who have come for economic reasons, whether such people are here to do political or economic mischief, terrorists for carrying out their plans, etc. People who have come for economic reasons may be given an identity number which could be something like a green card given in the US – a permanent residency but not citizenship – on humanitarian grounds, if and only if, they can prove they have been staying in that locality for say five years or more and can get at least five citizens of standing to vouch for them.

If identity/residence cannot be proven, then the government needs to take appropriate steps as per the law of the land for illegal citizens. For citizens of India who migrate from one city to another in search of jobs, the national identity card should be his proof of identity and permanent residence. Tax payers in Mumbai, should stop having to bear the burden of providing free residence for people staying illegally on land grabbed for hutments. The Maharashtra government is planning to extend the cut-off to the year 2000, in light of the forthcoming elections. This is political expediency at its worst – hopefully better sense will prevail and the High Courts order will be followed with regard to not extending the cut off date from 1995. There will be no end to this – as this is a vicious cycle – date extensions, will require residence proof, more bogus ration cards to accommodate more voters, more money exchanging hands all round for this, and the saga of the politico-builder nexus taking money from the poor with the promise of free housing will continue. Somewhere this nonsense has to stop.

It is the citizens who should intervene and stop Mumbai going down the drain due to the selfish motives of retarded politicians. Maharashtra is already losing its premium ranking as a place to do business, with inadequate power, water and horrible roads to Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc. Mumbai is an ordeal to stay and work in – roads are in a perpetual state of dis-repair, housing is unaffordable, train/bus travel is stressful, there are no green open spaces, people are arrested for spitting – people spit to clear throats which are infected by the polluted air – people shitting on the roads is allowed but spitting is a crime. I do not deny it is unhygienic – but have the authorities created an atmosphere which is hygienic – that is the question. I guess I have digressed from the original theme – but I think in Mumbai at least – everything is interlinked!