RATION DEALERS' MARGIN UP 3-FOLD

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has announced a nearly three-fold increase in the margin money for ration dealers in the national capital from March for distribution of food items through manual mode. Following this, ration dealers will get Rs two per kg as margin money in place of the existing 70 paisa per kg from March, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain said on Saturday.

The announcement by the minister comes following a Cabinet approval to his department's proposal for hiking the margin money from existing Rs 70 per quintal to Rs 200 per quintal to the ration dealers for distribution of food items through manual mode.

It includes rice and wheat distributed by ration dealers under the National Food Security Act, 2013, apart from sugar. The ration dealers will get the benefit of enhanced margin money from March 2019, an official statement said. The Delhi Ration Dealers Association had been demanding for a long time that the margin money for manual distribution of food grains be increased in order to enable them to run fair price shops in a sustainable and viable manner.

Hussain said the decision to increase the margin money has been taken by the government keeping in mind various factors including daily wages of fair price shop holders, storage cost, shortage incurred during retail distribution, electricity charges and reasonable commission and profit.

Due consideration has also been given by the Delhi government towards the cost of owning or hiring space for fair price shops in various parts of the national capital and the payment of wages by the owners as applicable to the skilled worker, he said. The minister expressed confidence that the decision to increase margin money will bring relief and succour to the ration dealers.

They will work with renewed vigour and enthusiasm in distributing due ration to the beneficiaries, the statement said.