Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will extend its free ration scheme by six months till May 2022. Kejriwal also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the Centre’s free ration scheme by six months through the Prime Minister. Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
In a letter to PM Modi, the Chief Minister said that inflation is at its peak and common man is not able to collect even two meals a day.
“Inflation is at its peak. The common man is struggling to manage two meals a day. Many people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Mr. Prime Minister, please provide free ration to the poor. Extend the supply scheme by six months. The Delhi government is extending its free ration scheme for another six months.
Kejriwal’s remarks came after Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said that the Center has no proposal to extend the distribution of free ration through PMGKAY beyond November 30.
The Delhi government distributes free ration to the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 and PMGKAY.
The city has over 2,000 fair price shops, 17.77 lakh ration card holders and around 72.78 lakh beneficiaries.
Free ration is given in addition to subsidized food grains distributed through fair price ration shops.
PMGKAY was launched in March last year to mitigate the crisis caused by COVID-19. Initially this scheme was started for April-June last year, but later it was extended to November 30.
Later, Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Modi and urged him to extend the Centre’s free ration scheme by six months to benefit the poor.
The Chief Minister has said in his letter that during the time of Kovid-19, the Central Government had given free ration in addition to the monthly subsidized food grains to the ration card holders in equal quantity. He said that apart from the Centre’s scheme, the Delhi government has also made monthly ration free for the beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kejriwal said that these efforts of the Center and the Delhi government helped the poor a lot.
These schemes of both the governments are ending in November. The central government has announced that this scheme will not be carried forward after November. Many people have lost their jobs in the time of covid and have no source of earning,” he said.
“Therefore, I request you to extend this additional free ration scheme for another six months. The Delhi government is also extending its free ration scheme for another six months,” Kejriwal said in his letter.
He also tweeted the letter and urged the Prime Minister to extend the Centre’s free ration scheme by six months.
“Have requested the PM to extend the free ration scheme for six months. People are in trouble these days (due to COVID-19). It would not be appropriate to leave their (people’s) hand at this time,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
(with PTI input)
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