The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday accused the BJP-led Centre of asking the Delhi government to withdraw the Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana or doorstep delivery of ration scheme. The scheme was scheduled to be launched on March 25.
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj appealed to the Centre “not to interfere in such matters” of the Delhi government as this was against the mandate of the people of Delhi and public good.
“The doorstep delivery of ration is the flagship programme of the AAP government under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Every State government provides ration to the poor. Each month, the government distributes ration to families based on their size,” he said.
“We are well aware of the several drawbacks of the ration distribution system across India. Generally, the ration shops should be opened every day but that never happens. They open on just two-three days and there are long queues outside the shops. The poor get their ration, which is their right, after going through a lot of trouble,” he added.
Mr. Kejriwal had worked in the food welfare sector in Seemapuri for many years and knows that ration dealers get very little commission, which is why they indulge in corruption, he said.
Earlier, the commission for the ration dealers was just 35 paise but the Kejriwal government increased it to ₹2, Mr. Bharadwaj, adding that this was the highest commission for ration dealers across India. The Centre still provides 35 paise as commission, he added.
“Despite the increase in the commission of the ration dealers, there were several complaints from the poor that in Delhi the shops do not open regularly. To get just 5kg of ration, a poor person needs to stand in the queue from the morning, leaving his work. Taking cognisance of the situation, for the last 3-4 years, the Delhi government developed the scheme of home delivery of ration. Under this scheme, ration is packed by the Delhi government and delivered to the people.”
He said, “This will ensure that every poor person gets ration at their doorstep. The scheme is now fully ready, and the Chief Minister was supposed to launch it on 25th March at Seemapuri’s JJ cluster. The Centre and the food and civil supply Ministry were fully aware of this scheme. It is the best scheme for the poor because they are able to receive ration without any hurdle. This scheme would have prevented rampant corruption,” he also said.