Punjab: Partial rollout of atta-on-doorstep scheme in February

Ruchika M Khanna

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Chandigarh, January 28

The Punjab Government will be rolling out its ambitious scheme for home delivery of wheat or atta to 30 lakh beneficiaries (6.50 lakh ration card holders) in February. Though there are 1.54 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (after 10.77 lakh were brought back into the fold last week), the scheme will initially be rolled out partially and later expanded to cover all beneficiaries.

Highly placed sources in the government have told The Tribune that the scheme would be launched in mid-February at a rally to be organised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The scheme will be launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

Though initially it was proposed to launch the scheme at a rally on January 27, the persisting cold weather has pushed the event to the second week of February. The party top brass is in the process of finalising the venue for the launch of the scheme at a rally in either Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot or Ferozepur parliamentary constituencies.

The wheat for the last quarter of the year (January to March 2024) has not been distributed so far. Once the scheme is rolled out, wheat or atta will be distributed on a monthly basis, rather than quarterly. The government has set aside Rs 670 crore per annum for running the scheme.

Official sources in the Department of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs have said that initially the government would roll out the scheme through the government-run fair price shops. Markfed, which is the nodal agency for running the scheme, has got 800 model fair price shops built to run the scheme. Four vendors have also been selected to run these shops and distribute atta/wheat. The scheme is all set for its launch as all things are in place, a senior officer in Department of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs stated.

The beneficiaries will either get 5 kg of wheat or wheat flour delivered free of cost at their doorstep. The monthly wheat requirement is 72,500 tonnes. Calculations are being made on how much of flour is to be distributed initially after assessing the beneficiaries who would want flour and not grains. It is only after the distribution starts, will the government know about the number of beneficiaries wanting to opt for doorstep delivery.