Bringing a major relief to the residents of Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced door-step delivery of ration, a scheme which will enable the residents to get their ration without having to go out amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcing the scheme, Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the entire process will take 6-7 months to be implemented. However, beneficiaries will still be able to collect their ration from shops if they want.

“Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice, and sugar-packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to the doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional,” he said in a virtual press briefing.

With the implementation of the doorstep delivery of the ration scheme, the Centre’s ”One Nation One Ration Card” scheme will also come into effect in Delhi, he said.

“Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice, and sugar-packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to the doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional,” he said in a virtual press briefing.

With the implementation of the doorstep delivery of the ration scheme, the Centre’s ”One Nation One Ration Card” scheme will also come into effect in Delhi, he said.

Kejriwal recalled that he and Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia had fought for the rights of people to ration before joining politics and even faced attacks from the ration mafia.

The Chief Minister, however, asserted that people will be asked whether they want to pick up the ration from the shops or want it delivered to their homes.

Here’s a look at key points about the scheme:

  • The scheme seeks to deliver ration at the door-step of beneficiaries
  • It will take around six to seven months to be launched
  • The scheme will be linked to Centre’s ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme
  • Stuff like wheat, sugar, and rice will be packed hygienically and will be directly sent to the houses.
  • With the implementation of the doorstep delivery of the ration scheme, the Centre’s ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme will also come into effect.
”In the country, every government along with the central government distributes ration to poor. There are a lot of problems in the distribution of ration. Since the AAP government has come we have eased some of those problems. The decision taken by the cabinet today is a revolutionary step,” Kejriwal said.

Doorstep delivery of ration, which covers over 17 lakh beneficiaries, was a key in the AAP manifesto in the Delhi elections held earlier this year. The government in its previous term had launched a scheme to provide doorstep delivery of services including issuance of new ration cards and driving licenses.

The scheme is expected to bring relief to the poor who are struggling to meet their daily needs as a fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries would be delivered ration in packets and would get aata instead of wheat.