Delhi govt receiving 50,000 applications daily on food scheme

New Delhi: Refuting allegation by opposition BJP of applicants of food security scheme forms being fleeced, Delhi government on Monday said it has already distributed 40 lakh forms and is receiving 50,000 applications daily.

"We have distributed 40 lakh application forms through the ration offices, Gender Resource Centres (GRCs), offices of District Magistrates, SDMs and MLAs. "Elaborate arrangements has been made to receive the applications at 200 offices -- 70 ration offices and 130 GRCs. On an average 50,000 applications are being received daily," Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf told reporters. He accused the BJP of misleading the people and projecting the Food Security Act in poor light. Yusuf said around 32 lakh people under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Below Poverty Line (BPL), Jhuggi Ration Card (JRC) and Resettlement Colony Ration Card (RCRC) categories were getting ration under National Food Security Act from this month. "Over nine lakh families have already submitted their completely filled application forms and now scrutiny would be done. "Our officials have created a database from the data collected from Transport and Power departments and Revenue record of properties registered under A to H categories, which would be used for electronic scrutiny to check their eligibility," Yusuf said, adding the process of identification of other eligible households has started. If an applicant is an income tax payee or has electricity connection of more than two kW or owns a vehicle, then they would not be eligible to smart card under the scheme, he added. In a bid to create awareness about the application process, the Minister said the department has put up 200 hoardings across the city and was also making public announcement through 140 autorickshaws. "Also to reach out to trans-genders and marginalised women, the government was taking help of NGOs working with Mission Convergence for door-to-door distribution of applications and helping the people in filling up and submitting them," he said. Yusuf also refuted the charges of distribution of poor quality of food grains and said officials were constantly monitoring the quality of stocks received from FCI godowns. PTI