MUMBAI: Beneficiaries of the Centre’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat free ration scheme aimed at migrants without ration cards declined by 87% between May and June in Maharashtra. Officials said it reflected the exodus of migrants from the state on the special shramik trains during this period.
However, with the ration quota for June still being distributed, the number of beneficiaries is expected to rise.
Under the scheme, the Centre had decided to distribute 8 lakh tonnes of grain free of cost to eight crore stranded migrants who were not covered under the National Food Security Act and did not have a ration card. Applicants were entitled to 5kg of free grain and each family to 1kg of pulses a month in May and June. Latest data show the scheme had 28.6 lakh beneficiaries in May, but only 3.7 lakh in June.
While 1.2 lakh quintals of rice were distributed under the scheme in May, the figure was just 12,788 quintals in June—a drop of 89%. The distribution of chana dal was 5,187 quintals in May, and in June, it fell by 77.6% to 1,159 quintals.
“The distribution of grains under the scheme is on, but there has been a drop in demand. One of the main reasons could be the reduction in the number of migrants in the city, with many having gone to their hometowns,” said food and civil supplies secretary Sanjay Khandare.
He added that there were also some procedural delays owing to the time taken for the grains to travel from godowns to fair price shops. While grains for the scheme were only allocated for May and June, the distribution period has been extended till August-end. Activists have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a similar extension throughout the country.
City activists said it is not easy to access the scheme, which results in exclusions. “It is difficult to apply without the help of a social worker because the process is tedious and time-consuming,” said Mohammad Jameel from the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan.
Janardhan Singh, who lives in Malad’s Ambujwadi slum, said he tried to get the free grains, but failed. “I migrated from Uttar Pradesh in 1991, and my family came here in 2010. We had a ration card in UP, but don’t have one here,” said Singh, who used to make imitation jewellery before the lockdown. “I applied for the scheme with my Aadhaar card, but they said it was linked to our UP ration card and I was turned down for the Atma Nirbhar Bharat ration scheme.”
But officials said that the Maharashtra government had made provisions for interstate ration card portability, which would have allowed a migrant with a ration card from another state to access grains on public distribution. “Around 35 lakh ration cards have received portability in Maharashtra,” said Khandare.
However, with the ration quota for June still being distributed, the number of beneficiaries is expected to rise.
Under the scheme, the Centre had decided to distribute 8 lakh tonnes of grain free of cost to eight crore stranded migrants who were not covered under the National Food Security Act and did not have a ration card. Applicants were entitled to 5kg of free grain and each family to 1kg of pulses a month in May and June. Latest data show the scheme had 28.6 lakh beneficiaries in May, but only 3.7 lakh in June.
While 1.2 lakh quintals of rice were distributed under the scheme in May, the figure was just 12,788 quintals in June—a drop of 89%. The distribution of chana dal was 5,187 quintals in May, and in June, it fell by 77.6% to 1,159 quintals.
“The distribution of grains under the scheme is on, but there has been a drop in demand. One of the main reasons could be the reduction in the number of migrants in the city, with many having gone to their hometowns,” said food and civil supplies secretary Sanjay Khandare.
He added that there were also some procedural delays owing to the time taken for the grains to travel from godowns to fair price shops. While grains for the scheme were only allocated for May and June, the distribution period has been extended till August-end. Activists have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a similar extension throughout the country.
City activists said it is not easy to access the scheme, which results in exclusions. “It is difficult to apply without the help of a social worker because the process is tedious and time-consuming,” said Mohammad Jameel from the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan.
Janardhan Singh, who lives in Malad’s Ambujwadi slum, said he tried to get the free grains, but failed. “I migrated from Uttar Pradesh in 1991, and my family came here in 2010. We had a ration card in UP, but don’t have one here,” said Singh, who used to make imitation jewellery before the lockdown. “I applied for the scheme with my Aadhaar card, but they said it was linked to our UP ration card and I was turned down for the Atma Nirbhar Bharat ration scheme.”
But officials said that the Maharashtra government had made provisions for interstate ration card portability, which would have allowed a migrant with a ration card from another state to access grains on public distribution. “Around 35 lakh ration cards have received portability in Maharashtra,” said Khandare.
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