New Delhi: The Central government on Saturday scrapped the Delhi government’s flagship doorstep ration delivery scheme saying its approval was not sought by the Kejriwal government. Notably, this door-step delivery of ration scheme of the Delhi government was supposed to start from next week. The flagship scheme of the Arvind Kejriwal government was aimed at benefiting 72 lakh people.
Announced under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna’ (MMGGRY), this scheme under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) of the National Food Security Act, 2013 was notified by the government on February 20. With this scheme, the delivery of packed wheat flour and rice were to be delivered to the beneficiaries at their doorstep.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on March 20 directed the officials to remove the name — MMGGRY — from the government’s scheme as it had been stalled after the central government objected to the nomenclature of the scheme.
While scrapping the scheme, the Central government flagged several concerns saying it could result in ration card holders buying grains and other necessities at a higher rate than what is fixed under a central law.
As per updates from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the scheme could also make it difficult for recipients of the subsidies to relocate and stall a shift towards biometric verification of beneficiaries.