New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that he will resend the doorstep ration delivery scheme to the Centre to seek its approval, adding that the Delhi government will run this scheme following all the guidelines issued by the Centre under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
For this purpose, Kejriwal has called a cabinet meeting on Monday wherein a detailed discussion will be held on the matter.
“We have called a cabinet meeting on Monday where this idea will be passed. This will not be a new scheme and will not have any name. After the cabinet nod, we will send the decision to the Central government and I am very hopeful that this time it will approve our decision,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister’s statement came a day after the Centre objected to its flagship scheme of doorstep delivery of subsidised food grains to the people of Delhi.
The Kejriwal government was all set to kick start the scheme on March 25, but the Centre had red-flagged it by issuing a notice to the CMO, saying the word ‘Mukhyamantri’ can’t be used in the name of a programme to distribute food grains under the National Food Security Act.
The AAP government had named the scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna’ to provide subsidised ration in packed bundles with an idea to stop the old ration distribution system at government-run shops.
“I was a little disheartened with the Central government’s objection, because we have been working on this project for the last 3-4 years and I was personally monitoring this scheme. But we have understood their issue with it and we just want the people to benefit and the ration mafia to be defeated,” he said.
Kejriwal further stated that the doorstep delivery scheme is close to his heart as he has been fighting against the ration mafia for around 20 years as an activist.
“We did not bring this scheme to take any credit, all the credit should be with them (Centre) and all the work and responsibilities should be with us,” Kejriwal said.
Elaborating more about his flagship scheme, Kejriwal said that people get ration from government-run ration shops but they face various difficulties. Ration shops are supposed to open every day, but generally they open for just two or three days in a week, which makes getting ration very difficult.
Also, many ration dealers mix unhealthy materials in their ration. In many cases, the ration dealers also charge extra money from the poor, which is why the citizens face a lot of difficulties in getting ration, the Chief Minister said while addressing a press conference on Saturday.
“Taking cognisance of this situation, the Delhi government came up with the idea of home delivery of ration. Under this scheme, we decided to prepare a pack comprising atta, rice and other ingredients, which the government would then deliver to the individuals. We realised this can reduce the issues the citizens face in getting their monthly ration. This is why the Delhi government came up with the doorstep ration delivery scheme,” Kejriwal said.
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