Overview
- Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally handed licences to 2,800 newly selected ration depot operators at Vikas Bhawan in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, marking the completion of the state’s allocation process.
- The government says the additional depots will shorten travel and waiting times for about 5.5 lakh ration cardholders by placing monthly foodgrain collection points nearer to beneficiaries’ homes.
- Licences were awarded through an interview-based system intended to reduce political favouritism and ensure representation, with a category-wise breakdown including 633 for Scheduled Castes, 199 for OBCs, 181 for ex-servicemen, 156 for persons with disabilities, 39 for freedom-fighters’ families and 17 for riot-affected families.
- Officials urged depot holders to distribute entitlements fairly and to give special attention to elderly, disabled and economically vulnerable residents, but administrators and analysts say the scheme’s benefit will depend on steady grain supplies, active monitoring and accessible grievance redressal.
- The depot expansion supplements Punjab’s wider food-welfare work, including the Smart Ration Card programme and free wheat and ‘Meri Rasoi’ kits to around 40 lakh families, and seeks to reverse past licence allotments that critics said were driven by political patronage.