Aimed at getting rid of long queues for ration, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced the rollout of the doorstep ration delivery scheme, however, kept it optional for the eligible beneficiaries.
Mann, in a video message, said that the poor will no longer need to stand in queues as good quality ration will be delivered at their doorstep.
“The AAP government has decided to start the doorstep delivery of ration scheme. Under the scheme, good quality ration items will be delivered at the beneficiaries’ doorstep and no one will now need to stand in queues or leave his work for this, he said. “Our officers will make a phone call to the beneficiaries and ration will be delivered at their homes as per their convenience and availability,” said Mann.
What is the new scheme
Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna, the doorstep ration delivery scheme announced by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann will cater to the beneficiaries of the Atta-Dal Scheme of the state government, which was renamed Smart Ration Card Scheme by the erstwhile Captain Amarinder Singh-led government and was the state’s version of the Centre’s Food Security Act.
The Ghar Ghar Yojna scheme, as told by CM Bhagwant Mann, will be optional and all those who do not want to queue up outside the fair price shops or the ration depots will be able to opt for it.
He said this scheme is optional. The Punjab chief minister said if the ration depot is very close to your home, one may fetch the ration from there.
The old Atta-Dal/Smart Ration Card scheme beneficiaries
There are over 1.50 crore individual beneficiaries, in 43 lakh families, of Punjab’s Atta-Dal scheme, an Indian Express report mentioned.
Under the scheme, the state government gives 5 kg wheat to each beneficiary per month at Rs 2 per kg. Even though the scheme’s name includes wheat flour (atta) and pulses (dal), the state has not been able to give pulses due to lack of funds, the report said.
Who funds the scheme
The central government funds the scheme Atta-Dal/Smart Ration Card scheme under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 for 1.41 lakh beneficiaries, comprising 36 lakh families. These 36 NFSA families are Centre’s identified BPL families. Punjab, however, also had announced a state funded scheme to provide subsidised ration to 9 lakh beneficiaries not covered under NFSA.
The annual income of these beneficiaries reportedly is below Rs 30,000 per annum, which, however, is more than the limit set by the Centre for Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. Punjab has backed this by saying that the living standard of Punjabis is better than the rest of the country.
Distribution and more
The state earlier used to supply wheat flour to the beneficiaries but complaints of flour turning bad or getting infested, prompted the state to take the decision of giving wheat instead. Now, wheat is provided by the ration depots in cities and villages once in three months.
Number of ration depots handling the operation
There are 26,000 ration depots in Punjab handling the operation that use Electronic Point of Sale (e-POS) machines for biometric verification of every beneficiary, eradicating the need to carry any other document. The quarterly delivery takes about a month as about 16 depots use a single e-POS machine that delays the process of delivery, the report said, adding that every depot has about 300 registered beneficiaries. The machine is transported to different depots, leading to formation of queues.
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