Govt raises income cap for ration card application to Rs 1.2 lakh

The Delhi Government has decided to raise the annual income cap to Rs 1.20 lakh from the previous Rs 1 lakh, to enable more households to be eligible for ration cards. The decision to raise the annual income cap was taken in a recent Cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to make Delhi’s food security system more equitable and focused on poor families.

According to official data, due to the absence of clear rules for several years, more than 3,89,883 applications for ration cards have remained pending in Delhi, and over 11,65,965 people are still waiting for food security benefits. Data verification revealed that the income details of around 6,46,123 people did not match the prescribed norms.

About 95,682 individuals had remained in the system for a long time without availing any benefits. Nearly 23,394 duplicate names were found, while in 6,185 cases, benefits were recorded in the names of deceased persons. Around 56,372 people had themselves requested to opt out of the system. Owing to all these reasons, a total of more than 8,27,756 vacancies were created; these slots will now be filled with those who have been waiting for years for a ration card or food security coverage, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office.

Now, the families with an annual household income of up to Rs 1.20 lakh will be eligible for a ration card. New food security rules will be implemented in Delhi with the resolve that “no one should go hungry”, the statement quoted the chief minister as saying. Under the new rules, families will not be eligible if they own property in A to E category colonies in Delhi, pay income tax, own a four-wheeler excluding one commercial vehicle used for livelihood, have any family member in government service, or have an electricity connection exceeding 2 kilowatts.

The Chief Minister made it clear that food security is not an act of charity, but a right of the poor. The government’s resolve is that no needy person should go hungry merely because of shortcomings in the system.

An income certificate issued by the revenue department has been made mandatory to apply for ration cards, thereby ending the system of self-certification.

According to the CM, the “first-come, first-served” system will now be discontinued. The applications will be examined, approved and prioritised through district-level committees to ensure that the neediest families are placed higher on the list. Each district-level committee will be chaired by the district magistrate or additional district magistrate, and will include the local MLA and officials concerned.

The committee will scrutinise applications and arrange them in order of priority so that the most deserving families receive benefits first. Additionally, a 20 per cent waiting list will also be prepared to ensure that vacancies are filled promptly, the statement said. The CM explained that the district-level committee has been designated as the central unit for priority determination.