Delhi govt approves for delivery of ration at doorsteps of PDS beneficiaries

The Delhi government today approved a proposal for delivering rations in sealed packets at he doorstep to PDS beneficiaries, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today.

The proposal of the Department of Food, Supply and Consumer Affairs for providing doorstep delivery of wheat/flour, rice and sugar for eligible beneficiaries was passed at a Cabinet meeting today and will be now be sent to the Lt Governor for final nod.

The meeting was attended by Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and other officials.

"Attempts were made to put roadblocks in the passage of the scheme but then it was approved by the Cabinet today. It will now be sent to LG for his consent. I will also request the LG to consider it keeping in mind the poor residents of Delhi and pass it," Sisodia said.
 

Theft of ration, poor quality of supplies and shops remaining closed were the major issues that residents were facing and the implementation of this new scheme would put an end to these harassments, he said.

"Delhi government is committed to ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive their due ration in a transparent manner with maximum ease," he said.

Once approved by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, the service provider for home delivery of ration will be selected in a transparent manner through open bidding, a senior official said.

The attention of the Cabinet was also drawn to the extant laws/rules and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Government of India, asking state governments to ensure home delivery of ration to the beneficiaries experiencing difficulty in getting their entitled quantum of subsidised food grain due to old age, physical disability etc.

According to a government official, there are around 72 lakh PDS beneficiaries in the city.

Meanwhile, reacting to Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri's remarks about the AAP government "sitting" on the Delhi Metro phase IV project, which is pending for the last three years, Sisodia said he has gone through the proposal.

"The proposal says that many of the routes are not viable and if implemented in its current form, the metro fares will have to be increased which will affect common people. We have to thus make it more practical so that daily commuters do not suffer," he said.