Centre stops Delhi govt's 'doorstep ration delivery scheme' over 'nomenclature'
New Delhi: The Union Food Ministry on Friday took strong objection to the "nomenclature" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's doorstep ration delivery scheme as the bitter fight between the BJP-run Centre and the AAP-led Delhi government amid the Government of NCT Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 row continued.
The Food Ministry said that the scheme known as "Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana" (MMGGRY) could not be named as such because it uses subsidised foodgrains provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and this is "not allowed under the law".
The Delhi government's flagship scheme was to be launched by the chief minister on March 25 from north-east Delhi's Shahdara district.
In a letter written to the Delhi government, Joint Secretary in the Union Food Ministry S Jagannathan said the subsidised foodgrains being allocated by the central government for distribution under the NFSA "cannot be used for the operationalisation of any state-specific/ other scheme under different name/nomenclature other than NFSA as the same is not permissible under the Act."
While states may like to enhance the distribution of subsidised foodgrains, including additional entitlements, more subsidy etc, the "nomenclature from NFSA to any local state scheme may be misinterpreted by the beneficiaries as state benefit and may give rise to confusion regarding their rights under the Act," he said.
Under the NFSA, passed by Parliament in 2013, the central government provides foodgrains to states for distribution to 81.35 crore people via the public distribution system (PDS) at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 1-3 per kg.
However, the Centre will have no objection if a separate scheme is made by the state government without mixing the elements of the NFSA foodgrains, he said and requested the Delhi government to follow the norms and provisions of the NFSA in rightful spirit.
As per the ministry's data, about 41.33 lakh tonnes of foodgrains have been allocated under the NFSA to Delhi government till February of the 2020-21 fiscal for distribution via PDS. Out of which, offtake has been 40.97 lakh tonnes.
Before the Centre's communication to the Delhi government was made public, sources in the Delhi government had said without revealing details that "the Centre has stopped Delhi government's doorstep delivery of ration scheme".
This comes amid the ruling AAP's strong pushback to the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill, which essentially defines Delhi government as the L-G with respect to legislation passed by the Assembly here in addition to making it mandatory for the L-G's office to okay executive action. The Bill has been introduced in Lok Sabha.
