BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has advised the states to keep the fair price shops open on all days of the month for distribution of foodgrains for beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
The Food and Public Distribution department under the Ministry has written to the states to keep the fair price shops open preferably on all days for distribution of foodgrains under PMGKAY III and NFSA to beneficiaries in a staggered manner throughout the day to maintain social distancing and adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
The State government has been requested to ensure that the shops are exempted from the restricted hours of opening as applicable for regular markets. In view of Covid lockdown and curtailing of the functioning hours of fair price shops, people facing problem in collecting their ration from the public distribution system. The government has been requested to take necessary steps for timely distribution of foodgrains at the shops without causing hardships to the beneficiaries and give wide publicity to the new measures.
The government has started implementing distribution of foodgrains under PMGKAY III for two months, May and June, in same pattern as was done last year by providing an additional quota of free-of-cost rice or wheat at a scale of 5 kg per person per month, over and above their regular monthly NFSA entitlements to beneficiaries covered under NFSA.