Political fight escalates on ration delivery plan

Delhi currently has around 1.78 million ration card holder households which, according to government records, translate to 7.2 million beneficiaries.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the Capital’s government to launch doorstep ration delivery, citing how crowded shops could potentially turn into Covid-19 “superspreader” zones and adding that the CM’s name had already been dropped from the scheme.

The scheme was first approved in March 2018 but could not be implemented because of numerous administrative issues, largely revolving around methodologies allowed and not allowed under the National Food Security Act. (Raj K Raj/ HT Archive)

On Saturday, Kejriwal’s office said the Centre again “blocked” the Delhi government’s ambitious scheme days ahead of its launch, with Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal rejecting the scheme. The L-G’s office, however, said Baijal did not “reject” the scheme and only “advised for the constitutional scheme of things to be followed in letter and spirit”.

“If pizza, burgers, smartphones and garments can be delivered to doorsteps of people, then why not ration?” Kejriwal said in a digital news briefing on the contentious issue on Sunday. He said the scheme should be implemented across the country in view of Covid-19.

“In Delhi, a doorstep delivery of ration scheme was ready to be launched next week. All necessary tenders were completed, and arrangements were in place. It would have relieved millions of people in Delhi from crowds and long queues outside ration shops. For the last 75 years, the ration distribution system across the country has been looted by the ration mafia, leading to leakages in the system that deprive poor people of the food grains they are entitled to. Doorstep delivery would have been a revolutionary initiative,” said Kejriwal, citing his own days as a social activist and being allegedly attacked by people for his fight against “ration mafia”.

Delhi currently has around 1.78 million ration card holder households which, according to government records, translate to 7.2 million beneficiaries. Ration to them is currently distributed through a network of 2,000-odd fair price shops.

“The proposal has been turned down citing no approval from the central government. It is untrue. We have written to the central government five times, seeking their approval in this regard. Going by the law, we do not need any approval from the central government in this regard. State governments are capable of implementing such schemes. In March, you asked us to remove mukhyamantri (chief minister) from the name of the scheme, we obliged. We followed all your conditions,” said Kejriwal.

A senior official in the central government said: “The Government of India has not asked the Delhi government to not distribute the ration the way they want to. They can do so under any other scheme. The Government of India can also provide additional food grains for that, as per notified