The Kejriwal government has given major relief to the needy people living in Delhi and do not have ration cards. Such people will continue to get free ration.
The Delhi government earlier decided to provide free ration to the needy on 25 May 2021, with the objective of providing relief to needy migrant workers, unorganised labour, construction workers, domestic servants and others who do not have ration cards and have been hit hard by the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. Again, it has been decided to continue the facility for the time being at a Cabinet meeting held today. This decision will benefit about 40 lakh non-PDS people in Delhi. The Delhi Cabinet has approved Rs 48.12448 crore for procurement, distribution and transportation of food grains to the needy.
As per the eligibility prescribed under the NFS Act 2013, 5 kg of food grains was given free of cost to the needy people, including migrant workers, unorganized workers, construction workers, domestic helpers who do not have ration cards. Under this scheme, four kg of wheat and one kg of rice are included per person per month. Due to this decision of the Cabinet, such people living in Delhi were benefited and now the number of beneficiaries has increased significantly. In addition, free food grains are being provided to 72.78 lakh PDS beneficiaries as regular allocation under the NFS Act.
At present, the distribution of food grains to the beneficiaries is being done through 282 schools identified by the Education Department, three municipal corporations and the NDMC. But in the coming days, schools are likely to re-open and then there may be a problem in the distribution of food grains. Therefore, an alternative arrangement is being worked out for the purpose. At the same time, registration for ration can be done by visiting the Delhi government’s Ration E-Coupon Corona Relief Portal.