In News:

• The Delhi High Court put brakes on the Delhi government’s scheme for the home delivery of ration recently.
• The court has allowed the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh’s petition against the proposed parallel mechanism for using private dealers to deliver rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS) at people’s doorsteps.

What’s in today’s article:

• About the Scheme (Name, Features, Purpose, etc.)
• Central government’s objections
• News Summary

About the Scheme:

• Proposed by the Delhi Government, door step ration delivery scheme is intended to deliver PDS foodgrains to the doorsteps of the beneficiaries.
• The scheme was notified as “Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana” in February 2020.

Proposed Implementation of the Scheme:

• According to the tender documents and the gazette notification of the scheme, millers empanelled with the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (DSCSC) will be tasked with lifting wheat and rice from six godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
• Subsequently, the wheat will be processed into atta while the rice will be cleaned of straws, stones, jute bag thread, mud, other impurities and foreign substances and sent to the fair price shops.
• In the second step, the Delhi Consumer’s Co-operative Wholesale Store Ltd (DCCWS), which runs the fair price shops, will rope in private agencies for the doorstep delivery of the foodgrains.

What happens at the level of doorstep?

• As per the plan, the beneficiaries who sign up for the scheme, will be notified in advance through SMS about the delivery, as it happens in case of LPG.
• The packed ration will be handed over to them after biometric verification through the e-POS method.
• The beneficiaries can choose to collect their monthly quote at one go or in instalments.

Central Government’s Objections:

• Contradicts National Food Security Act, 2013:
  • Delhi government cannot use highly subsidised foodgrains allocated to it under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to run a local scheme, that too with the prefix “Mukhya Mantri”.
  • Also, the central government has argued that any change in the delivery mechanism requires an amendment in NSFA that can be done only by Parliament.
  • The central government argued that the court should not allow any state government to interfere with the structure of NFSA and destroy its architecture and that FPS is an integral part of the Act.
• Role of Fair Price Shops (FPS):
  • The fair-price shops play an important role in the implementation of the National Food Security Act.
  • States/UTs with legislative assemblies are required to ensure the execution of the NFSA in a manner mandated under it.
  • Also, the Centre has no role in the selection of the fair-price shops.
• The Centre has suggested the Delhi government to implement the doorstep ration delivery scheme on a pilot basis as there is no clarity on many fronts, including rates at which wheat flour and packaged foodgrains will be distributed and if beneficiaries' consent was taken or not.

News Summary:

• The Delhi High Court put brakes on the Delhi government’s scheme for the home delivery of ration recently.
• The court has allowed the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh’s petition against the proposed parallel mechanism for using private dealers to deliver rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS) at people’s doorsteps.
• As the petition has been accepted, the scheme cannot be implemented at present.
• The court ordered that the Delhi government is free to bring another doorstep delivery scheme but it cannot use grains provided by the Centre for this doorstep scheme.

Delhi Government’s Argument:

• The Delhi government planned to launch the scheme for the doorstep delivery of ration in June 2021, but it did not get approval from the lieutenant governor.
• Delhi government had defended the scheme on the ground that it was for the poor who were being threatened by FPS owners to opt-out of the home delivery mode otherwise they would not be given ration.