Rights: Not possessing a ration card may once again leave several people out of the food security net provided by the second round of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme. This central government scheme aims to provide the country’s vulnerable citizens grain through the public distribution system.
The Centre, on April 23rd 2021, announced the second round of PMGKAY, whereby it will provide free food grains to 81 crore ration card holders in the months of May and June 2021. However, no provision has been made for citizens with no ration cards. This unavailability of free grain is likely to result in a humanitarian crisis for large segments of the population.
Last year, the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package was announced to supplement PMGKAY. The scheme covered as many as 2.7 crore people without ration cards, out of an initial target of eight crore people. However, no such scheme has been announced so far this year.
According to a national survey conducted by Gaon Connection on the impact of COVID-19 on rural India, a majority of the economically poor households with no ration cards faced ‘very high’ or ‘high’ difficulty in accessing food during the lockdown.
In Delhi, for instance, 71 lakh ration cards had been issued; and still, during last year’s lockdown, an additional 60 lakh e-coupons had to be issued for those without ration cards to access free food grain given by the Delhi government, said Anjali Bhardwaj of the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan.
“This shows the huge levels of food insecurity. The number of ration cards issued are totally inadequate and it is the most vulnerable population who don’t have the requisite documentation and fall out of this safety net,” she said. “Last year, the Atmanirbhar scheme was brought in, and state governments came up with temporary solutions because of this. This time, the government has a moral obligation not to wait until the humanitarian crisis erupts,” she added.
In 2019, the government had launched the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme. This aimed to provide ration and food security to migrant workers and their families under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). According to the Food Department a total of INR 60.7 lakh additional people had been covered under the NFSA since 2020.
Read this article on why access to basic entitlements is a critical safety net for vulnerable communities.
