NEW DELHI: Days before Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejwal was to launch his ambitious doorstep ration delivery scheme, the Centre on Friday raised serious technical objections, putting a roadblock in the implementation of the programme. Subsidised foodgrain supplied under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) cannot be used for a state scheme with a different name, the Centre said on Friday.
In a letter to Delhi’s food and civil supplies commissioner, Joint Secretary in the Union Food Ministry stated that the notified Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna “is not permissible” under the NFSA norms. “Subsidised foodgrains allocated by the depar tment under NFSA cannot be used for operationalisation of any state specific scheme under a different name/nomenclature other than the NFSA as the same is not permissible under the Act,” the letter stated.
The Centre’s letter said that if the state government wants, it can start a separate scheme but “without mixing the elements of the NFSA foodgrains”. The move which comes days after the Centre brought a Bill that gives overarching powers to Delhi L-G prompted an attack from the ruling AAP in Delhi, which questioned why the Central government was opposed to “ending of ration mafia”. Chief Minister Kejriwal was scheduled to launch the scheme with doorstep delivery of ration to 100 households in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri on March 25.
The modalities of the scheme had also been notified by the Delhi government last month. This is not the first time that the scheme has faced hurdles. It was because of this very project that a power tussle between the Delhi chief minister and L-G Anil Baijal had erupted three years back. In June 2018, Kejriwal along with his cabinet ministers had staged a sitin at the L-G office, demanding approval of the scheme.
Also, in December last year, the high court issued notices to the Delhi government and the Centre on a plea filed by Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh, saying that the scheme was an attempt to remove fair price licencees from the public distribution system (PDS). According to the AAP government, the doorstep ration delivery programme will help in cutting down the corruption in PDS and reduce the role of middle-men. There are about 2,028 designated fair price outlets and shops in the city of Delhi which provide ration to 70 lakh beneficiaries who are below the poverty line.