To promote livelihood, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday virtually kicked off a state-wide pro-poor scheme for Allotment of 7,219 Fair Price Shops (FPS) under his Government’s flagship “Ghar Ghar Rozgar te Karobaar Mission”.
As a token gesture, the Chief Minister handed over allotment letters to five beneficiaries. The event was marked by simultaneous distribution of 370 allotment letters to the beneficiaries in 64 Municipal Committees by various Ministers, MLAs and other dignitaries across the State, in the first phase of the scheme.
The CM said the initiative will be instrumental in improving the economic condition of people, besides further strengthening public distribution system to ensure seamless, fair and timely distribution.
He asked the allotees to ensure that the ration meant for the poor reaches the genuine beneficiaries without illegal diversion of food grains. He added nearly 30,000 beneficiaries (average family of four) would be benefitted through the scheme.
Amarinder asked the Food Department to look into ways and means to supplement the income of FPS owners by facilitating these outlets as points of sale for additional consumer items. He complemented the Ration Depot Holders for their contribution to the State Government’s relentless battle against Covid-19 by operating their shops during lockdown thus ensuring hassle-free supply of free food grains to the people in the State. During the lockdown period, 17 lakh free food kits were distributed to the poor.
He also lauded the endeavour of the Food and Civil Supplies Department to plug leakages in Public Distribution System with the introduction of ePOS machines using biometrics, to ensure that ration only goes to the rightful beneficiaries.
