Delhi govt approves doorstep delivery of ration, terms it 'revolutionary'

The Delhi government on Tuesday approved doorstep delivery of ration to eligible beneficiaries, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced, terming it as a "revolutionary" move.

The scheme will be known as "Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Ration Yojna", he said.

The scheme, which was approved at a cabinet meeting, is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-7 months after completing tendering process and other necessities.

"Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice and sugar packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional," he said in a virtual press briefing.

In its previous stint, the ruling AAP was involved in a long drawn tussle with the Lt Governor's office over its flagship doorstep delivery of ration scheme.

In March 2018,Lt Governor Anil Baijal had asked the Delhi government to refer its proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the Centre with full details.

With the implementation of the scheme, the Centre's 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme will also come into effect in Delhi,said the chief minister.

The state governments in cooperation with the Centre distributes ration but there are different kinds of complaints like shortchanging, overpricing, delays and quality. Getting ration should be right of the poor, he said.

"In five years since the AAP came to power, we have made several changes. Now, ration is available to the people," he said.

Kejriwal said he and Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, as RTI activists before joining politics, fought for rights of people to ration and even faced attacks for it from the ration mafia.

"We used to fight for rights of the poor in the slums through Parivartan organisation. We made maximum use of RTI for helping poor people get ration in a proper way," he recalled.

Kejriwal said like the doorstep delivery of services scheme implemented by his government, this scheme was also a revolutionary milestone in the field of governance.