New Delhi: National Labour Congress President KN Tripathi, in view of the Covid restrictions being imposed in the possible third wave, would meet Minister of Union Food Supplies Minister Piyush Goyal in Delhi to seek free ration without ration cards for migrant workers for one year.
As the number of Covid cases raising, restrictions are being imposed. The most affected would be the migrant labourers once again. In the wake of the lockdown, factories may be shut down or will reduce their workforce which again would affect the workers since they would be forced to return to their states.
Tripathi said that in order to avoid food crisis for migrant workers during the lockdown and added, "I demand Union Food Supplies Minister Piyush Goyal and central government should give free ration for one year to migrant labourers without ration cards. The number of migrant workers without ration cards is about 7 crores. I will meet Piyush Goyal and Union Labor Minister Bhupendra Yadav along with my delegation and submit a memorandum. Hope the central government will accept our demand soon."
Also Read: No proposal to extend free ration scheme PMGKAY beyond Nov 30: Food Secy
In the year 2020, during the first wave of covid and the national lockdown, 80 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Scheme (NFSA) were given separately free of cost by Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Under the scheme, it was announced that 5 kgs of food grains, wheat-rice per person per month would be provided. The PMGKAY scheme ran from April to November 2020. Only ration cardholders got free food grains.
In the year 2021, during the second wave of Corona, PMGKAY, the scheme to provide free food grains, was restarted and it was extended till March 31, 2022. But those poor people who do not have their ration card did not receive any of the free rations. According to the data of the Central Government, 278 LMT of food grains has been allotted for free distribution under PMGKAY to the States/Union Territories from May to November 2021. From April to November 2020, 322 LMT of food grains were allocated to the States/UTs for free distribution under PMGKAY.
Since the inception of PMGKAY, 75987138.23 MT of food grains has been allocated by the Central Government to the States and Union Territories for free distribution among ration cardholders. According to the information, so far more than 54931788.00 MT of food grains have been distributed among the poor by the states and union territories.
