NEW DELHI: In a huge relief to the residents of Delhi, the state government has extended its free ration scheme till September end, informed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday while addressing a media briefing.
The proposal was approved unanimously during a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet held on the day. The government has been supplying ration for free to almost 73 lakh citizens since April 2020. The chief minister vouched for the extension of the scheme citing backbreaking inflation and loss of livelihood amid the pandemic.
The CM chaired an important meeting of the Delhi Cabinet at the Delhi Secretariat. During the meeting, the Food and Civil Supplies department proposed the extension of the supply of free ration for beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for another four months from June to September. It was unanimously decided to extend the scheme.
NFSA beneficiaries include needy people like migrant workers, unorganised workers, construction workers, domestic helpers and those who do not have ration cards. Under the city government’s free ration scheme, 5 kg of food grains are provided free of cost to the needy as per the eligibility prescribed under the NFSA, 2013. This includes 4 kg of wheat and 1 kg of rice per person per month.
Delhi has 72,77,995 beneficiaries under the Targeted Public Distribution system (PDS). To ameliorate the impact of back-to-back lockdowns, Delhi government has been distributing NFSA ration to all PDS beneficiaries free of cost since April 2020.
