Delhi Government Starts Door-to-Door Poll to Track Inactive Grocery Cards: Imran Hussain | Delhi News
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will start a door-to-door survey starting next month to track grocery cards that have been inactive for the past two to three months, Food and Supply Minister Imran Hussain said Friday.
Food cards that remain inactive for three consecutive months may be canceled, according to food department officials.
Inactive ration cards are those in which beneficiaries do not purchase a subsidized ration in stores at fair prices for three consecutive months.
“We will be conducting a door-to-door survey starting next month (November) to check those beneficiaries who have not received a ration for two to three months. We will check if the person went to their hometown or is sick. ration card is not separated.
“If the card is inactive and the person does not exist or has left Delhi for good, we will cancel such (inactive) cards and add new ones,” Hussain told PTI.
He added that a beneficiary’s grocery card will not be canceled without a valid reason. All factors that lead to the fact that a ration is not collected are carefully checked.
The minister said the e-PoS machine department will have data on beneficiaries who are disputed not collecting rations by the end of October.
Delhi stopped using e-PoS in early 2018 after complaints about a poor network emerged that resulted in authentication failures and the exclusion of real beneficiaries. It was resumed in July of this year.
“There will be some people who didn’t have to come in July but collected rations in August, and some must have skipped August but took food grains in September. We’ll spare those cards that don’t for a month or two came to get ration. ” said Hussein.
The minister also said that if someone has gone to their hometown and therefore cannot come to get ration, they will also be spared.
Officials said the department will have accurate data on inactive cards after the survey is completed.
“As soon as we have the exact dates, the department will start the process of canceling inactive grocery cards,” said a department official.
After the cards were struck, the government plans to take in other applicants who had to wait as Delhi’s 72.77 lakh ration cards quota expired.
The minister said there were more than two lakh requests for ration cards placed on a pending list.
He said he was in talks with central government authorities to increase the ration card quota in Delhi by at least 7-8 lakh.
“We have asked the central government to increase Delhi’s quota from 72.77 lakh to 80 lakh ration cards, but so far there has been no progress. There are over two lakh ration cards on the waiting list, â€said Hussain.
The Delhi government distributes free rations to 72.77 lakh beneficiaries through e-PoS (electronic point of sale) devices under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 and Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana (PMGAKY) in over 2,000 stores fair prices. The government has also started distributing rations under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) program from July this year.
In June, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal rejected the Delhi government’s proposal to launch its flagship “door-to-door ration delivery†program because the center had not given its approval and an ongoing legal process had led to the program.
Food cards that remain inactive for three consecutive months may be canceled, according to food department officials.
Inactive ration cards are those in which beneficiaries do not purchase a subsidized ration in stores at fair prices for three consecutive months.
“We will be conducting a door-to-door survey starting next month (November) to check those beneficiaries who have not received a ration for two to three months. We will check if the person went to their hometown or is sick. ration card is not separated.
“If the card is inactive and the person does not exist or has left Delhi for good, we will cancel such (inactive) cards and add new ones,” Hussain told PTI.
He added that a beneficiary’s grocery card will not be canceled without a valid reason. All factors that lead to the fact that a ration is not collected are carefully checked.
The minister said the e-PoS machine department will have data on beneficiaries who are disputed not collecting rations by the end of October.
Delhi stopped using e-PoS in early 2018 after complaints about a poor network emerged that resulted in authentication failures and the exclusion of real beneficiaries. It was resumed in July of this year.
“There will be some people who didn’t have to come in July but collected rations in August, and some must have skipped August but took food grains in September. We’ll spare those cards that don’t for a month or two came to get ration. ” said Hussein.
The minister also said that if someone has gone to their hometown and therefore cannot come to get ration, they will also be spared.
Officials said the department will have accurate data on inactive cards after the survey is completed.
“As soon as we have the exact dates, the department will start the process of canceling inactive grocery cards,” said a department official.
After the cards were struck, the government plans to take in other applicants who had to wait as Delhi’s 72.77 lakh ration cards quota expired.
The minister said there were more than two lakh requests for ration cards placed on a pending list.
He said he was in talks with central government authorities to increase the ration card quota in Delhi by at least 7-8 lakh.
“We have asked the central government to increase Delhi’s quota from 72.77 lakh to 80 lakh ration cards, but so far there has been no progress. There are over two lakh ration cards on the waiting list, â€said Hussain.
The Delhi government distributes free rations to 72.77 lakh beneficiaries through e-PoS (electronic point of sale) devices under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 and Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana (PMGAKY) in over 2,000 stores fair prices. The government has also started distributing rations under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) program from July this year.
In June, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal rejected the Delhi government’s proposal to launch its flagship “door-to-door ration delivery†program because the center had not given its approval and an ongoing legal process had led to the program.
