Punjab govt’s doorstep ration delivery scheme: how, why, and the numbers that matter

Under the new Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna, as announced by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the beneficiaries of the Atta-Dal Scheme of the state government, which is a tweaked version of the Centre’s Food Security Act, will get ration at their doorsteps. The scheme will be optional and all those who do not want to queue up outside the fair price shops or the ration depots can opt for it.

How many beneficiaries are there of Atta-Dal Scheme?

There are 1.54 crore individual beneficiaries (in 43 lakh families) of the Atta-Dal scheme in Punjab. The government gives 5 kg wheat to every individual beneficiary per month at Rs 2 per kg. While the scheme is named after wheat flour and pulses, the state has not been able to give pulses (ground black grams preferred in Punjab over lentils), due to lack of funds. Various political parties have also been promising tea leaves and sugar, but it could never materialise due to lack of funds.

Who funds the scheme?

The Centre funds the scheme under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 for 1.43 lakh beneficiaries (comprising 36 lakh families). These are Centre’s identified BPL families. Punjab has added its own list of beneficiaries by giving them Blue Cards. These beneficiaries’ annual income is below Rs 30,000 per annum, which is more than the limit set by the Centre for BPL category. Punjab argues that the living standard of Punjabis is better than the rest of the country. Now, Centre pays for the subsidy bill of 36 lakh families worth Rs 1700 crore every year. It also pays half of the transportation charge. The bill for the remaining 7 lakh families is borne by the state government.

How is it distributed?

The state earlier used to supply wheat flour to the beneficiaries. However, following complaints of flour turning bad or being found infested, a decision was taken to give wheat instead. Now, wheat is provided by the ration depots in cities and villages once in three months.

How many ration depots handle the operation?

There are 26,000 ration depots in the state. They use Electronic Point of Sale (e-POS) machines for biometric verification of every beneficiary. The quarterly delivery takes about a month as about 16 depots use a single EPOS machine that delays the process of delivery. Every depot has about 300 registered beneficiaries. The machine is transported to different depots. This also results in queues.

Is the scheme a replica of a similar one announced by the Delhi government?

Punjab is working out the logistics amidst certain concerns. The government functionaries feel that the Centre, which shot down the scheme in Delhi, will not pay for the transportation incurred upon home delivery. The state also does not have so many employees who can be assigned to deliver ration at beneficiaries’ homes.

In Delhi, the Centre and the UT government have been at loggerheads over the implementation of the scheme, with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution writing to the AAP-led regime on several occasions, saying that a provision for delivery of ration to homes does not exist in the NFSA. It has also told the Delhi government that it had no objection to the scheme if the government buys ration from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and distributes it, but using grain given to the state under NFSA would be illegal.

How does the government plan to deliver the foodgrains at doorstep?

In Delhi, the millers empanelled with Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (DSCSC) were to be tasked with lifting wheat and rice from six godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) before processing and cleaning. These were then to be sent to ration depots and the Delhi Consumer’s Co-operative Wholesale Store Ltd (DCCWS), had to rope in private agencies to deliver foodgrains. In Punjab, however, the wheat is supplied by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies to the ration depots, who hand it physically to the beneficiaries.

Newsletter | Click to get the day’s best explainers in your inbox