No one will be deprived of ration, Delhi govt tells high court

It said that beneficiaries who opt for doorstep delivery but miss the scheduled delivery or wish to collect the packages SFAs on their own will be able to collect it from the circle level FPS set up by the DCCWS

Delhi government will set up exclusive stores in different parts of the city for doorstep delivery of ration to ensure that people or those who are not at home can collect it at their convenience.

The affidavit said that no one will be deprived of food grains even after the introduction of the door to door step ration scheme and the fair price shops will continue to exist. (Raj K Raj/HT Archive)

In an affidavit filed before a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, the Delhi government has said that the Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Ltd (DCCWS) would set up exclusive Fair Price Shops across various districts at the circle level.

It said that beneficiaries who opt for doorstep delivery but miss the scheduled delivery or wish to collect the packages SFAs on their own will be able to collect it from the circle level FPS set up by the DCCWS.

The affidavit said that no one will be deprived of food grains even after the introduction of the door to door step ration scheme and the fair price shops will continue to exist.

“The Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Ltd. (“DCCWS”) will set up FPS across various districts in Delhi at the Circle level. Pursuant to conversion, cleaning and packaging, the packets of Specified Food Articles (SFAs) will be delivered by empanelled millers / packaging units at the FPS. DCCWS will also empanel Direct Home Delivery Agencies (“DHD Agencies”) who shall deliver the packets to the home of the beneficiary.

“Beneficiaries who opt for doorstep delivery but miss the scheduled delivery or wish to collect the packages SFAs on their own will be able to collect it from the circle level FPS set up by the DCCWS. Beneficiaries who do not opt for home delivery will be able to collect their dry ration from the existing FPS. Therefore, it is a misconception that the GNCTD is seeking to do away with FPS,” the city government said in the document filed on November 18.

The response comes on an application filed by the petitioners Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh seeking modification of an order of September 27 where the court had allowed the Delhi government to cut on the ration being supplied to the fair price shops on account of those who have opted for the doorstep delivery of the food grains.

The modification application was filed in a pending plea by the Sangh challenging the city government’s scheme for doorstep delivery of ration, Mukhy Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna.

In response to this, the city government said that the petitioner association is entirely mischievous contentions in respect of implementation of the scheme. It also said that it does not have any vested right to insist on continuation of the present system for distribution of subsidised food grain.

It has also said that not a single beneficiary has questioned the mode and manner of implementation of the Scheme and an overwhelming majority of the target beneficiaries have opted to receive food grains at their doorstep.

“The petitioner is deliberately seeking to expand the scope of the present petition by raising such non-issues in a desperate attempt to stall the implementation of the scheme,” the affidavit read.

The Centre, however, on Monday reiterated before the court that the city government cannot mitigate the architecture and it has to fall into the architecture of the Act, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati also argued that fair price shops form an integral part of the National Food Security Act.

“If the State wants, it is free to give benefit higher than the NFSA but they cannot mitigate or militate the architecture of the Act,” Bhati told the court.

She added that while the Act mandates obligations of both the Central as well as State Government, it is the State Government which is responsible for the execution as mandated by the Act.

“We have no role in the selection of fair price shop owners. It is not that the system is placed by us and the State is prejudiced. It is chosen by the State government,” Bhati argued.

The arguments would continue on November 29.

Nearly 7.2 million people in Delhi are eligible for subsidised food, including 1.7 million ration card holders and nearly 3 million priority households, besides other food insecure categories identified by the Delhi government.

The Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration scheme has been stalled due to differences between the Delhi government and the Centre.

The scheme was to be launched on March 25, but the Union food and consumer affairs ministry wrote to the Delhi government on March 19 raising two objections— the use of the term “mukhyamantri (chief minister)” for a scheme involving the distribution of food grains allocated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and that any change in the delivery mechanism requires an amendment in NSFA that can be done only by Parliament.