Pilot run of home delivery scheme on hold this month

IN AN ORDER ON THURSDAY, THE DELHI FOOD DEPARTMENT DIRECTED FAIR PRICE SHOPS TO START DISBURSING RATION FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE FROM FRIDAY

NEW DELHI: Amid an ongoing tussle with the Centre, the Delhi government has virtually put on hold its plan to implement a pilot run of the doorstep delivery of ration scheme in the city this month.

In an order issued on Thursday, the Delhi food department directed fair price shops to start disbursing ration among beneficiaries for the month of June from Friday, including in Seemapuri where the government was planning to carry out the pilot run of the doorstep delivery scheme.

The additional allocation made to each beneficiary under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) will also commence simultaneously, said the government order, a copy of which HT has seen.

A Delhi government spokesperson did not respond to requests by the reporter seeking comment.

While people are entitled to 4kg wheat, 1kg rice and 1kg sugar under regular ration scheme in the Capital, they will get an additional 5kg food grains under PMGKAY till Diwali, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 7.

While food grains under PMGKAY are 100% subsidised, the Delhi government had announced free regular ration for the months of May and June.

Delhi has 1.78 million ration card holders which translates to 7.2 million beneficiaries.

Last Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has “rejected” the scheme citing lack of Centre’s approval and a pending case in the Delhi high court.

The L-G office, however, said Baijal did not “reject” the scheme and only “advised for the constitutional scheme of things to be followed in letter and spirit”.

This was the second time this year that the scheme was stalled due to differences between the Delhi government and the Centre.

The scheme was to be launched on March 25, but the Union food and consumers affairs ministry wrote to the Delhi government on March 19 raising two objections to the scheme — the use of the term “mukhyamantri (chief minister)” for a scheme involving the distribution of food grains allocated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and that any change in the delivery mechanism in the NFSA requires an amendment that can be done only by the Parliament.

On Tuesday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to approve the scheme in the “national interest”.

In his letter, Kejriwal assured the Prime Minister that the Delhi government was ready to make whatever changes the central government will suggest in the longdelayed scheme to deliver ration at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries in the Capital.

He said his government only aims to provide ration to the poor and did not want any credit for the implementation of the scheme.

The scheme was first approved in March 2018 but could not be implemented because of administrative issues, largely over approved methods to distribute ration under the NFSA.

It also led to a tussle between the elected government and lieutenant governor, leading to a demonstration outside the L-G’S office by the top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.