Cabinet nod to one ration card scheme in Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a significant move, the Delhi cabinet has decided to implement the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme that will enable poor migrants, who come to the capital in search of livelihood, to obtain rations by using public distribution system (PDS) cards issued to them in their native states.
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns devastated the poor, especially migrant workers who lost their livelihood options. ONORC would help them tide over the crisis as they would be able to get free rations under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) and under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana from Tuesday onward.
In a statement, Delhi government mentioned, “All beneficiaries will get rations free of cost in a phased manner through e-PoS (electronic point of sale) after biometric authentication at all fair price shops. Migrant beneficiaries having proper ration cards and who have been identified under NFSA in their parent state will also get rations for free under this plan.”
Free rations would be distributed to around 72 lakh beneficiaries attached to about 17 lakh households. Saurabh Gupta and Shailendra Kumar, who represent the fair price shop owners unions, said ration under ONORC would be distributed from Tuesday based on the food department’s order.
The food department issued an order on Monday evening asking fair price shops to ensure hassle-free distribution. They were also asked to mandatorily display a board detailing this entitlement to all beneficiaries. All zonal assistant commissioners, circle food security officers and inspectors have been directed to ensure distribution of specified food articles at all such shops through e-PoS after biometric authentication. Over 2,000 fair price shops in Delhi have successfully conducted trial runs of e-PoS machines.
The implementation would come as a blessing to thousands of migrant workers who get deprived of free or subsidised ration when they migrate to Delhi in search of jobs. Currently, all such migrant workers are unable to use the ration cards issued by Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states.
In Delhi, under NFSA, beneficiaries are provided 5kg of foodgrains every month under regular entitlement, including 4kg wheat and 1kg rice. Regular entitlement under the AAY category is 25kg wheat per household, 10kg rice and 1kg sugar. The cost fixed for entitlement is Rs 2 per kg for wheat, Rs 3 per kg for rice and Rs 13.5 per kg for sugar, which is currently not being charged from NFS and AAY beneficiaries.
Food and supply minister Imran Hussain said that during the lockdown, the food department had successfully made efforts towards meeting the requirements of the poor and vulnerable sections of society. “Now, we have implemented the ONORC policy, which will benefit migrants living in Delhi to get rations free of cost,” he added.
All fair price shop licensees have also been instructed to observe necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the beneficiaries while distributing rations. They should inform them that supply would be available in sufficient quantity. There should be no chaos and panic in getting rations. The beneficiaries can call the helpline number 1967 for getting their grievances addressed.