Bengaluru, Aug 11 (IANS): As many as 85,107 Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya cards availed by those who do not come in the bracket of the poor section have been terminated, officials said on Wednesday.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department has been able, with the help of the Income Tax Department, to identify the rich people who have taken BPL cards, Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd Commissioner, Dr Shamla Iqbal, said.

The ration cards are linked to the Aadhar card and the Income Tax department has given the list of 85,204 taxpayers who are availing the benefits meant for the poorer sections of society after obtaining BPL and Antyodaya cards.

The government has warned that undeserving people must return the BPL cards, and 34,908 BPL cardholders and 1,360 Antyodaya card holders returned their cards voluntarily.

The sources said the state government has assessed that as many as 14 lakh people availed themselves of BPL and Antyodaya cards by falsely claiming that they are poor and it is causing a Rs 200 crore burden on the state exchequer.