A month without work, 27,000 poor Chandigarh families await promised ration under PM scheme

Under the PMGKAY, the poor are to get 5 kg wheat per head per month, and 1 kg pulses per family per month for the months of April, May and June

Even as lockdown enters its second month, not all poor families have received the promised food grains and pulses under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKA) in Chandigarh. UT officials said it will take another ten days for every household under the scheme to get its share of ration.

After the curfew robbed the poor and daily wagers of an income, they have been left to the mercy of the government, NGOs and charities for food and ration. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

As part of the ₹1.70 lakh crore relief package, the central government announced free food grains and cash to women, poor senior citizens and farmers to ease their hardships during the lockdown.

Under the PMGKAY, the poor will get 5 kg wheat per head per month, and 1 kg pulses per family per month for the months of April, May and June.

Till Sunday, of the approximate 64,000 families eligible for getting food grains under the scheme, Chandigarh administration has been able to deliver dry ration to around 36,600 households.

About 156 families under Antyodaya (AAY) and 63,457 priority households (PHH) will be covered under the scheme and more than 2.75 lakh persons are likely to benefit therein. Under AAY, the poorest among the below poverty line (BPL) families have been selected and issued AAY ration cards. Under the PHH, really poor and vulnerable sections of society such as landless labourers, marginal farmers and wage earners of informal sections of the economy are covered. The administration identifies such families on the basis of set parameters.

Curfew in the UT was imposed on March 24, while it was designated as a red zone on April 15.

Most of these families are daily wage earners who have no source of income during the curfew. In the absence of government ration, these families are depending on charities for their food.

Cart vendor Prem Shankar Shah of Sector 49 said, “I am a yellow ration card holder. We are six in my family. I transport goods, malba in my rehri. Since the curfew put an end to work, we are struggling to meet our daily needs of food. The longer the delay in giving us ration, the tougher it becomes to feed our children.”

Even though ration was distributed in his area, Shah said he didn’t get any. “We went to the place where ration was being distributed but we didn’t get any despite requests.”

Secretary of food supplies, Vinod P Kavle, said the administration shares the concern of the people in the matter. “We are expediting the process of delivery of ration to households under the scheme. Meanwhile, we are also providing cooked food and are seeking cooperation from the public in the matter.”

Adding that most states are distributing ration till June, Kavle said, “We have clubbed the distribution and are distributing it all at one go.”

When asked by what time the administration would complete the exercise, Kavle said, “We expect to complete distribution in another ten days.”