Delhi govt to provide free ration to PDS cardholders till November

The Delhi government on Tuesday said it will provide free ration to public distribution system cardholders till November to mitigate the hardships caused to them due to the coronavirus pandemic. The distribution of foodgrains for this month is scheduled to start in a phased manner from July 8, a government statement said.

In Delhi, more than 17.54 lakh households are covered under the National Food Security (NFS) Act.

Nearly 71,40,938 people get subsidised foodgrains from the Delhi government. These also include 68,465 Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) households with 2,78,954 beneficiaries.

The NFS beneficiaries are given 5 kg foodgrains every month, including 4 kg wheat and 1 kg rice.

Regular entitlement under the AAY category is 25 kg wheat, 10 kg rice and 1 kg sugar per household.

Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain said, ?During the lockdown, the Department of Food and Supplies made all-out efforts towards meeting the food requirements of the poor and vulnerable sections of the city including NFS beneficiaries.

"The Delhi government had earlier provided free ration to the NFS beneficiaries for April-June,? he added.

The minister also cautioned the beneficiaries to be aware and not pay for the foodgrains provided to them.

In case the beneficiaries face any problem in receiving ration free of cost at fair price shops (FPS), they may contact officers of the department for immediate redressal,? he said.

The beneficiaries can make a complaint to the respective assistant commissioner, food supplies officer or food supplies inspector.

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Hussain said for effective management at fair price shops, the government has deployed civil defence volunteers to ensure social distancing norms and orderly distribution of foodgrains.

He added that officials have been deployed round-the-clock in the field to facilitate the distribution of foodgrains.