Many times, due to family disputes, marriage or any other reason, it becomes necessary to separate the ration cards of the same family. Earlier, for this work, you had to run to the food department office repeatedly, but now the Food and Supplies Department of the West Bengal State Government has made this process completely online and easy. Now you can do the family split of your ration card from home. However, it is very important to know some strict rules and conditions before applying, because if you do not follow the rules, your application may be rejected.
Whose application is acceptable for family separation?
Not just anyone can apply for a ration card if they want to separate the ration card. The food department has set certain criteria for this. Basically, you have to keep three things in mind:
Rules regarding the number of members: If there are less than 7 members in your current digital ration card family, then you cannot apply for family separation. That is, to do ‘split’, it is mandatory to have at least 7 or more active members in the main family.
Card Category: If your card is listed under ‘Antyodoya Anna Yojana’ (AAY), then you will not get this online facility. Only PHH, SPHH, RKSY-I and RKSY-II category beneficiaries will get this facility.
New Member and Time Limit: If a member has recently joined your family through Form No. 4 (new member) or Form No. 14 (transfer), then family division cannot be done till 2 years have passed from the date of his joining.
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Method of filling Form No. 13 online
The specific form for family division is ‘Form 13’. You can easily apply from your smartphone or computer by following the steps given below:
1. Login Process: First, go to the ‘Citizens Home’ option on the official website of the Food Department. There, by clicking on Online Application from the Ration Card corner, enter the portal with the Aadhaar number and OTP of any member of the family.
2. Form Selection and Member Selection: Select ‘Form 13’ from the ‘Online Form’ section on the left side of the dashboard. Then the names of all the family members will appear on the screen. Those who want to separate and form a new family, just tick their names. Remember, the person who logs in with the Aadhaar number will automatically be selected as part of the new family. Family Game
3. Old Family Consent: This is a very important step. The consent of the old or original family is required for the new family to separate. Among those who are staying in the old family, one person has to be selected and Aadhaar OTP verification has to be done. This proves that the original family has no objection to this division.
4. Document Upload: Finally, the Aadhaar card and ration card of both the head of the new family (who logged in) and the old family member who gave consent have to be scanned and uploaded. Make sure that the file size is less than 350 KB and the format is PDF or JPG.
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Approval and Ration Timeframe
The process is usually completed within 1 to 7 days after the application is successfully submitted. You can download the new e-ration card from the website, if you see only the names of the separated members there, then you will understand that the process has been successful.
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Special Note: Even if the card is separated online, it takes some time for this information to be updated in the e-POS machine at the ration shop or dealer. Usually, you can collect ration as a new family from the month immediately following the month in which you apply and get approval. So, if the dealer does not have the information after receiving the card, there is no reason to worry, wait until the next month.