The Modi government asked all the states and union territories to keep the ration shops open on all days of the month and till late. Its objective is to ensure the distribution of subsidized and free food grains to the poor in a timely and safe manner.
In this context, the Union Ministry of Food has issued a consultation. The Ministry was informed that due to the lockdown imposed for prevention of corona virus epidemic in some states / Union Territories , the time of distribution of food grains at ration shops has been reduced. Due to this, the beneficiaries are not getting enough time to get food grains.
“A lockdown has been imposed in some states and union territories, due to which the working hours of fair price shops (FPS) or ration shops may be reduced,” the ministry said in a statement. In view of this, the Department of Food and Public Distribution has issued a consultation on 15 May 2021. In consultation, ration shops have been allowed to be opened on all days of the month.
5 kg of food grains per person from one to three rupees per kg
It is noteworthy that under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the Center is providing 5 kg of food grains per person at the rate of one to three rupees per kg to more than 80 crore poor families. In addition, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), for the two months… May and June… the same beneficiaries are being given five kilograms of grain per person for free so that the second wave of Kovid-19 pandemic and its Lockdown and other restrictions imposed for prevention did not adversely affect the poor.
In the consultation, all states and union territories have been asked to keep shops of fair price open on all days of the month and to distribute food grains to the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and National Food Security Act in a systematic manner throughout the day. At the same time, it has been asked to ensure proper distance and strict adherence to Covid rules.
To facilitate this, states and union territories have also been requested to ensure that fair price shops are exempted from restricted hours for regular market. According to the statement, all states and union territories have also been urged to take necessary steps to ensure timely distribution of foodgrains at fair rate shops to the beneficiaries without any difficulty and also extensive publicity of the measures taken in this regard. Do it
