Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab Government’s ambitious scheme 'Ghar Ghar Ration' will start from October 2, benefitting about 1.54 crore people.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said that there are about 1.54 crore beneficiaries in Punjab under the scheme. About Rs 170 crore is being spent by the people on milling the flour, therefore, the scheme will save money of the common man, said the Minister.
The Minister added that it is the State Government’s endeavor that within seven days of grinding the flour in the mill, it should be delivered to all the houses so that the people can get fresh flour, which will also have a good effect on their health. He said that even in the market the flour is about one or two months old.
Responding to queries regarding why the government was giving flour instead of wheat, he said: “Earlier, people had to stand in the scorching heat or inclement weather for hours to get food grains under the food security scheme. Then people have to spend money on its gridding for flour. Now, people's time, money, hard work and energy will be saved by delivering flour directly at home.”
Sharing details about delivery, he said: “The Government will pick up the wheat from the FCI godowns and give it to the flour mills. Then, the delivery partners will be responsible for delivering the flour to every household. Many big delivery companies of the country have participated in the tendering process. The contract for delivery will be allocated to a firm soon.”
The Minister further said that the delivery of floor bags will be done under the supervision of the cameras so that there is no scope for any disturbance in the delivery, and people do not get any chance to complain. The delivery van has been equipped with GPS system for timely delivery, he added.
“Nowadays is the era of online. People do not always have cash money. Therefore, the option of digital payment has also been kept for payment,” he added.
Maintaining that the old ration depot holders have also been taken care of in the new scheme, the Minister said that the Government has signed an MoU with the old ration depot holders, under which they will be able to work related to various online services of the Central Government such as BSNL landline and phone bills and other online facilities of the Central Government to ensure that they get employment.
Responding to the opposition’s allegations, Kataruchak said that during the previous governments’ regime, there was huge corruption in the food distribution scheme. “The politicians used to scam crores and billions of rupees from officers to middlemen. Our government is eliminating corruption and implementing it in a transparent manner. Now there is no scope for corruption in this. We are providing facilities at home to the people with the same money by eliminating corruption,” he said.
National workshop for making panchayats self-reliant and sustainable development of villages held
Punjab Rural Development Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Union Minister of State Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil on Monday inaugurated a two-day National Workshop on Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in Panchayats through Thematic Approaches on Village with Self-Sufficient Infrastructure at the Central Panchayat Center in Crystal Resort near Zirakpur, Chandigarh.
Speaking on this occasion, Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and NRI Affairs of Punjab, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that Punjab has fought many battles for the country, be it guarding the borders or filling the country's food reserves to feed the people. But today Punjab is facing a financial crisis and the union government should provide special financial packages to the state to improve the fiscal situation of the state. He said that 63 percent of the population of Punjab lives in rural areas and comprehensive development of the villages is possible only if the centre government allocates maximum funds for health facilities, drinking water, sports facilities, and maintenance of ponds in the villages.
The Cabinet Minister stressed that it is also the duty of the centre government to extend helping hand to Punjab as Punjab gives a large share as GST to the center in lieu of tax. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal further said that the government in Punjab led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken many initiatives to remove illegal encroachment from panchayat lands in the state. He said that during the last five months, about 9000 panchayat lands have been freed from illegally encroachers. He also said that it kis for the first time that Garm Sabha Sessions were held in 12000 villages out of total 13000 villages in Punjab.
Speaking on this occasion, Union Panchayati Raj State Minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil praised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that Punjab has become the first state to hold a national conference for development of villages and the state government has made very good arrangements for the two-day national conference. He assured that the necessary funds will be released for whatever proposals are sent by the Punjab government according to the central schemes. He also assured that the funds that were stopped due to technical flaws in some schemes will be released soon. He stressed that the Panchayats will have to work hard to increase their income from their own resources to become self-reliant so that they do not have to depend on the government for development. Making an important announcement on this occasion, the Union Minister said that a program will be started in which panchayats will be sent to other states to show the good work of panchayats of different states.
On this occasion, Union Minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Punjab Rural Development Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and the other guests present also launched Panchayati Raj Information Mapping and Evaluation System, Prime APP, SDG website and Punjab State Livelihood Mission website.
Speaking on this occasion, the cabinet ministers of the state, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Dr. Baljit Kaur, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Anmol Gagan Mann and Chetan Singh Joudemajra said that it is necessary for the all-round development of the village only if the funds are spent on development works in a transparent manner without any discrimination, the real picture of village development can emerge.
Earlier, Chief Secretary of Punjab Vijay Kumar Janjua and Secretary of Central Panchayati Raj Ministry Sunil shared information and said that during this workshop, emphasis will be placed on theme 6 - village with self-reliant infrastructure. The main objective is to demonstrate capacity building and training, exemplary strategies, visions, coherent actions and innovative models in terms of best practices for promoting and adapting LSDG themes in the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
The national workshop will provide a forum for panchayats to learn together on various models for institutionalizing the LSDG process through a grassroots lens thematic perspective. In addition, it will provide an opportunity for exchange of information/ideas through exchange programs in international organizations and local governance. About 1300 elected representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions from 34 states and union territories across the country are participating in this national workshop.
The workshop will provide a platform for panchayats to showcase and share their experiences and innovative models, strategies, approaches to institutionalize the theme of villages with self-reliant infrastructure at grassroots level, which includes roads, potable water, sanitation by developing self-sustainable infrastructure in the areas of street lights, schools, primary health centers and dispensaries, common service centers, local markets, anganwadi centers, livestock support centers and community centers.
During this two-day national workshop, representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions from States and Union Territories will showcase and share their experiences and innovative models, strategies and approaches for institutionalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) at the grassroots level in various disciplines. . The Panchayati Raj Ministry will also give a detailed presentation on the revised National Panchayat Awards.