The Punjab Cabinet held a meeting on Tuesday morning at the Chief Minister's residence in Chandigarh and after the meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced several decisions related to ration cards, welfare schemes, and the upcoming Punjab Assembly session.
One of the biggest announcements was that the Punjab government will issue around 10 lakh new ration cards through a fully digital process, talking more about it the government said the process will be transparent and will follow the "No Cash, No Demands" principle, which means people will not have to pay money or seek recommendations from anyone to get a ration card.
Chief Minister Mann said the government has taken what he called a historic decision to issue 10 lakh new ration cards in the state and said families that already have ration cards can also add new eligible members to their existing cards. People can apply through the official ration card website, and applications will be processed without any recommendations or influence and according to the Chief Minister, the process of issuing the new ration cards will begin from Wednesday. The government has set a time limit of 21 days to complete the process.
He also said that in the past, some people managed to get ration cards through personal contacts or recommendations and the new digital system aims to make the process fair and transparent for everyone.
The Chief Minister said that priority will be given to people who need support the most and following Supreme Court directions, preference will be given to:
Widows
Persons with disabilities
People suffering from serious illnesses
Other needy and vulnerable families
Elderly people
The government said this step is meant to help families who require food security and financial support.
Out of the 10 lakh new ration cards, 7 lakh will be issued to eligible beneficiary families, while the remaining 3 lakh cards will be issued to workers registered on the e-Shram portal, together, this will bring the total number of new ration cards to 10 lakh.
The Chief Minister said every eligible person covered under the ration card scheme will receive 5 kilograms of wheat every month and added that the ration card scheme will continue alongside the state's "Meri Rasoi" scheme.
Chief Minister Mann said that around 40 lakh families are linked to the Meri Rasoi scheme and out of these, 32 lakh families are already receiving benefits under the scheme, while the remaining 8 lakh families are expected to be included by the end of this month. The newly added ration card beneficiaries will also receive the benefits available under the Meri Rasoi scheme.
During the press conference, the Chief Minister also spoke about the women's honorarium scheme and said that 32 lakh women had already received their honorarium on July 1. He announced that another 37 lakh women who registered later will receive their honorarium on August 1.
The Punjab Cabinet has also decided to hold the monsoon session of the Punjab Assembly from August 3 to August 10, talking about which the Chief Minister Mann said several ordinances will be placed before the Assembly during the session and added that decisions related to public welfare and public interest will also be discussed during the Assembly session.
The Chief Minister said the government wants to make welfare schemes more transparent and easier for people to access and by introducing a fully digital ration card system and removing the need for cash payments or recommendations, the government says it aims to ensure that benefits reach eligible people in a fair manner.