No ration in Aug to 2.5 lakh orange card holders
   Date :13-Aug-2020

No ration_1  H
 People queueing-up at a PDS shop. (Pic by Anil Futane)
 
 
By Kaushik Bhattacharya :
 
Food Supply Department yet to receive grant of Rs 10 cr from the State Government
 
File is still in Finance Department for permission
 
 
On one hand where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared that Government will extend free ration scheme under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of November, on the other hand 2.5 lakh orange ration card holders of the city are struggling to get their ration for the month of August due to lack of funds. Under the Minimum Common Programme of Government of India, poor families in the State were provided 10 kg of foodgrains at half the rate of normal rate.
 
As per the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), beneficiaries are grouped into two groups that is Antyodaya and Priority House Hold (PHH). Antyodaya group beneficiaries are entitled to get 35 kg of foodgrains per card per month and PHH beneficiaries are entitled to get 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month. Government of Maharashtra announced free distribution of ration to non-ration card holders during lockdown period and also declared to provide ration to Antyodaya group and orange ration card holders during lockdown.
 
However, the promise to provide ration till November disappeared after just three months. There are total 3.11 lakh ration card holders in the city in which 2.5 lakh are orange card holders. Every month, Government distributes 7,600 tonnes of ration through 682 ration shops in the city. After getting grants from Government, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department purchases ration every month. As per the claims, the Department received Rs 10 crore grant for the months of April, May and June. But the grant for the month of July has not yet received.
 
As grant of Rs 10 crore was not received, the procedure of purchase stopped and the 2.5 lakh ration card holders are not yet received their ration. “We are doing paper work with the Government for releasing the funds and hopefully with in a week we will receive it and thereafter the purchase will start,” said Anil Savai, Food Supply Office (Nagpur City) to The Hitavada. “After talking with the head office about the issue, we got to know that the file for Nagpur division is still in Finance Department for seeking permission,” he added.