New Delhi: A week after the announcement that the Delhi government would distribute rations to people without ration cards, the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA) has written to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to remind him of the situation facing the working poor and the marginalised communities. Noting that the COVID-19-induced lockdown in the national capital had entered its sixth week, the foods right campaign said that “the continuous extensions of the lockdown with no food relief for those without ration cards is inhuman”.
In the letter, the DRRAA, which has repeatedly raised the issue of shortcomings in the public distribution system in Delhi, reminded Kejriwal that the distribution of ration to people without ration cards was yet to begin despite directions from the Supreme Court and the Delhi government’s announcement to the effect on May 18.
The group said the lack of ration from authorities was “forcing people to rely on private charities and neighbours for food and in many places people are being forced to beg for food.”
The letter, signed among others by food rights activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri, Dipa Sinha and Annie Raja, recalled that the announcement to distribute ration to people without ration cards “was in recognition of the ground reality that there are many people who need state assistance for food security but do not possess ration cards as the fixed quota for Delhi under the National Food Security Act has been exhausted and there is no separate state run PDS Scheme.”
Therefore, the letter said, “there was an assurance that the scheme will be operationalised within two to four days.” However, it lamented that “it has now been a week since that announcement and the scheme is still not in place.”
The DRRAA said distress among the working poor and marginalised communities was at an alarmingly high as Delhi was now in its sixth week of the lockdown. That people were not relying on private charities and neighbours for food and, in many places, were being forced to beg for food, the group said, was an “indication of the desperate situation” for many.
It added that the DRRAA and other groups have already received SOS requests for ration from 1.50 lakh people across Delhi. “Most of these are people without ration cards. Furthermore, it is very concerning that in the absence of any official details of the scheme or even the date by when this scheme will be announced, a lot of misinformation is circulating in the public domain.”
The letter also pointed out that links to the e-coupon application website, which was in operation last year, are being circulated claiming that people can start applying for ration there, even though there has been no confirmation that the same system will be adopted this year.
The Abhiyan also recalled that on May 13, 2021, the Supreme Court had directed the Union of India and governments of Delhi, UP and Haryana to provide dry rations to all migrant workers in the Delhi National Capital Region. “The SC, recognising that many migrant workers may not possess identity proof, had directed that ration be given on the basis of self-certification to those without documents. However, to our knowledge, till date the Delhi Government has not implemented the directions.”
The letter said the Supreme Court further extended this relief to all the states on May 24. However, it noted with concern that despite multiple representations sent to the Delhi government, the Abhiyan did not receive any response other than the perfunctory forwarding of the letter for ‘appropriate necessary action’.