Paralakhemundi: In a shocking case of alleged administrative error, a resident of Ranalai village under R. Udayagiri block in Odisha’s Gajapati district has been declared “dead” in government records despite being alive, leaving him unable to access essential welfare benefits.The affected resident, Jakhariya Pal, approached the Gajapati District Collector after discovering that his Aadhaar had been deactivated because he was mistakenly marked as deceased in official records.According to the complaint, Pal came to know about the error when he was denied food grains under the Public Distribution System (PDS) through his ration card. Although he possesses a valid Aadhaar card, an online verification showed him as dead, leading to the deactivation of his Aadhaar number.As a result, he has been deprived of subsidised ration and several other government welfare benefits linked to Aadhaar authentication.I came to know that I had been declared dead after I was denied PDS rice through my ration card. Therefore, I approached the District Collector to activate my Aadhaar, which has been marked as dead in the official records,” Pal said.Responding to the complaint, Gajapati District Collector Akshay Sunil Agrawal acknowledged that the beneficiary had been wrongly declared dead due to an administrative mistake.He was mistakenly considered dead even though he is alive. The concerned authorities inadvertently deactivated the Aadhaar number of the beneficiary instead of that of his deceased brother. I have instructed the concerned officials in Bhubaneswar to rectify the error immediately so that the beneficiary can resume receiving benefits under various welfare schemes,” the Collector said.Pal has urged the district administration to restore his Aadhaar status at the earliest and ensure that his ration and other government benefits are reinstated without further delay. The district administration has assured that corrective action is underway to resolve the issue.
Man declared dead in Government records despite being alive, seeks Collector’s intervention in Odisha
