Covid-19: Free ration scheme in Delhi extended till May 31

State food and civil supplies minister Imran Hussain chaired a high-level meeting with officials of his department to review the programme for extension of free ration in view of a new wave of Covid-19 in Delhi

Weeks after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the Delhi government has extended the distribution of free ration in the city for six months till May 31, state food and civil supplies minister Imran Hussain chaired a high-level meeting with officials of his department to review the programme.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the Delhi government has extended the distribution of free ration in the city for six months till May 31. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Hussain directed officers to ensure there are no bumps in the ration distribution process.

“Strict action will be taken against FPS dealers who refuse the distribution of complete ration to the beneficiaries. The decision is benefitting about 1,778,632 households covering about 72.77 lakh [7.2 million] beneficiaries, which include 68,732 Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) households that have 281,006 beneficiaries,” he said.

The government in a statement later said the minister is keeping a close watch on the price trends of essential commodities and assured that wherever considered necessary, Delhi government will undertake market intervention to stabilise prices of essential commodities in Delhi during the pandemic.

“To bring relief to the consumers, the F & S Minister directed the Commissioner (F&S) to convene weekly meetings with stakeholders departments and agencies viz APMC, Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board(DAMB), Nafed to ensure that prices of essential commodities stay in range. The Minister also asked the Department to keep a strict vigil on the availability and movement of prices of essential commodities. The minister directed that the intelligence teams should also gather information about instances of hoarding and/ or black marketing of essential commodities during the corona pandemic if any so that the concerned departments could initiate necessary action against them under the essential commodities Act,” read the statement.