The Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has “rejected” the file for implementation of the 'Doorstep Delivery of Ration' scheme across the national capital, the Delhi Government said on Saturday.

Two reasons have been cited for rejection of the file--absence of Centre’s approval and an ongoing legal case, said the Delhi Chief Minister's office in a statement.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office issued statement claimed that no approval from the Centre is required for such a scheme and that the ongoing legal cases too cannot come in the way of the launch of the scheme as there has been no such court order.

Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain highlighted that the Centre’s concerns regarding scheme name have already been accepted by Delhi Cabinet:

Doorstep delivery of ration would have been a boon for the poor who are fearful of going to ration shops due to Coronavirus, or to stop spread of virus to the children in the third wave. Rejecting this scheme is a huge hit to Delhi’s fight against Corona, according to the Delhi Government.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has started free distribution of five kg foodgrains to non-PDS beneficiaries who don’t have ration cards, Imran Hussain said on Saturday.

Delhi Covid numbers

Meanwhile, the national capital has recorded 414 new infections and 60 fatalities in the 24 hours to Saturday. On Friday, Delhi had recorded 523 new cases and 50 fatalities.

The total death toll in the city since the beginning of the pandemic last year stood at 24,557.

The daily test positivity rate reduced to 0.53 per cent from 0.68 per cent on Friday. This is the sixth straight day when daily test positivity rate has remained below 1 per cent.

While the number of tests conducted on Saturday stood at 77,694, the number of beneficiaries vaccinated in the last 24 hours stood at 40,762.

The active Covid-19 cases in Delhi decreased to 6,731 on Saturday from about 8,060 in the previous day, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.72 per cent.

Related Topics