Thursday, 28 March 2013

Why Are We Being Penalized For Their Fault?

I obtained my Permanent Ration Card on 4-6-2009 by paying a fee of Rs. 60. Now the state government (Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs) has issued an advertisement in several leading newspapers (and also on their website) stating that the data on cards issued before December 2010 have been destroyed and that the public who have such cards should again pay a fee of Rs. 50 and get their fingerprints taken again before 31-3-2013.
A rumour is making the rounds that the the government did not pay the concerned private contractor and in a pique, the contractor destroyed all the data. Whether this is true or not we do not know, but what we know is that the government has lost the data. It is understandable that the government wants to collect the lost data once again, but why is it charging Rs. 50 from the public? Why are the public being penalized for a mistake committed by the government?
G.L.Nagaraj Urs, Mysore Grahakara Parishat