Delhi govt orders implementation of 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme

The Delhi Cabinet on Monday decided to implement the 'One Nation One Ration Card' (ONORC) scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered implementation of the ONORC scheme across the country by July 31.

All the beneficiaries would get ration free of cost in a phased manner through e-PoS devices on biometric authentication at all fair price shops (FPS) across Delhi.

"Migrant beneficiaries under national portability having proper ration cards and who have been identified under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) in their parent state would also get ration free of cost under this plan. The Delhi government has decided to continue the distribution of ration free of cost up to November 2021," an official statement said.

Under the 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme, persons holding a ration card under the National Food Security Act can collect their monthly quota of food grain from any FPS across the country.

The portability depends on e-PoS machines, which use Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication to verify the identity and entitlement of beneficiaries.

To ensure hassle-free distribution, fair price shops have been directed to mandatorily display a board detailing this entitlement to all beneficiaries, the statement added.

Delhi had suspended the use of e-PoS in early 2018 following complaints of poor network leading to authentication failures and exclusion of genuine beneficiaries.

Food and Supply Minister Imran Hussain said, The Delhi government had earlier provided an entitled ration free of cost to the NFS beneficiaries for May-June 2021. Now the government has decided to continue the distribution of ration free of cost up to November 2021. Now we have implemented 'One Nation One Card policy' which will benefit migrants living in Delhi to get ration free of cost."

In April, the Delhi food department had rolled out the Centre's ONORC scheme in Seemapuri on a pilot basis.

In June, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had rejected the Delhi government's proposal for the launch of its flagship "doorstep delivery of ration" scheme citing a lack of clearance from the Centre and an ongoing court case involving the scheme.

"If the beneficiaries have any grievance about the non-receiving of ration, they can make a complaint to the respective assistant commissioner, food supply officer and food supply inspector. They may also contact the helpline number 1967 and other grievance redressal portals, including PGMS, the minister said.