New Delhi: In a significant move, Delhi Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal decided that all the PDS cardholders of Delhi will get free ration till November 2020. The Delhi Chief Minister along with the Food and Civil Supply Minister Mr Imran Hussain decided that to mitigate the economic hardship caused by the pandemic COVID 19 the Delhi govt will continue to provide foodgrains free of cost to the National Food Security (NFS) beneficiaries in Delhi.
Now the Delhi government will be providing PDS ration to NFS beneficiaries for the next 5 months including July, August,September, October up to November, free of cost. The distribution of foodgrains for July 2020 is scheduled to start in a phased manner from 8th July onwards.
In Delhi, under the Public Distribution System (PDS) covered by the National Food Security Act, more than 17.54 lakh households get ration. This scheme benefits nearly 71,40,938 and they get subsidized food grains from the Delhi government.
These include 68,465 Antodya Anna Yojna (AAY) households with 2,78,954 beneficiaries also who are provided subsidized food grains. NFS beneficiaries are provided with 5kg of foodgrain every month including 4 kg of wheat and 1 kg of rice. Regular entitlement under AAY category is 25 kg wheat per household, 10 kg rice per household and 1 kg sugar per household. Cost fixed for entitlement is @ Rs.2 per kg for wheat and Rs.3 per kg for rice, which shall not be charged from the NFS beneficiaries (including AAY beneficiaries) while obtaining the ration for July 2020 to November 2020.
Mr Imran Hussain said, “During the lockdown the Department of Food and Supplies has successfully made all-out efforts towards meeting the food requirements of the poor and vulnerable sections of the city including NFS beneficiaries. Delhi govt had earlier provided entitled ration free of cost to the NFS beneficiaries for April-June also.”
Mr Hussain cautioned that the ration beneficiaries to be aware and not to pay anything for the foodgrains being provided to them as the Government of Delhi has decided to provide ration to the beneficiaries, free of cost for July-November. “In case beneficiaries face any problem in receiving ration free of cost at FPS, they may contact officers of the F&S Department for immediate redressal,” he said.
The beneficiaries can make a complaint to the respective Assistant Commissioner, Food Supplies Officer (FSO) or Food Supplies Inspector (FSI). They may also complain about the Helpline number 1967 and other grievance redressal portals including PGMS.
Mr Imran Hussain also said that for effective management at Fair Price Shops, the Govt. has deployed Civil Defence Volunteers to ensure social distancing norms and orderly distribution of food grains. F&S Departmental Officials including Assistant Commissioners, Food Supply Officers and Food Supply Inspectors have been deployed in the field round the clock to facilitate the distribution of food grains.
“All Department Officials and the distribution team of Fair Price Shops are working seven days a week without any weekly off. Members of the Vigilance Committee are also actively monitoring the distribution process. Area MLAs including Ministers are also inspecting the Fair Price Shops from time to time to motivate the staff and to ensure smooth distribution,” said Mr Hussain.
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