On Saturday when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal handed the kit of ration to Devinder Kaur of village Salaana Dulla Singh, a new revolution was embarked in the state in the form of ‘Ghar Ghar Muft Ration’ scheme.
The scheme, a brainchild of the Chief Minister, envisages smooth and hassle free delivery of ration to the people. Gone are the days when people had to face a lot of inconvenience for getting the food grains under the National Food Security Act by waiting in long queues. They had to face undue harassment while getting these grains most of the time while skipping their daily work or during the odd hours.
But now with the distribution of packaged Atta at the vicinity of the beneficiaries, a new era has been ushered in as the beneficiary shall not be required to stand in long queues, especially in inclement weather conditions. This will not only ensure delivery of nutritious food grains to people but will also go a long way in saving their time, money and energy. All mandatory requirements of biometric verification, handing over of printed weight slip to the beneficiaries and others will be ensured while the delivery.
The Home Delivery Service will introduce the concept of Model Fair Price Shops which will be run by 'The Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd.'- Markfed, being the apex cooperative and preference provided under the NFS Act to cooperatives. At present 600 such Model Fair Price Shops are ready whereas 200 more such shops will be ready through MGNREGA. A unique feature of the scheme is that the beneficiary will be prior apprised of the supply of ration at their village through SMS.
For any feedback/ suggestion/ complaint under the scheme toll free number 1100 can be dialed. Beneficiaries will not be charged for changing wheat into flour or its delivery to the beneficiary. The ration will be distributed every month to the eligible beneficiaries and this scheme is a step further towards checking pilferage, hoarding of grains and other maladies prevalent in the past. The new scheme will give major relief to 25 lakh beneficiaries in phase I across the state besides providing direct recruitment to 1500 youth in the villages.