Asks Punjab govt not to deny the poor their due
Says people should ask Cong MLAs why ration was not reaching the villages
Chandigarh, May 06, 2020: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said central food relief material for month of April had not been distributed to the people in Punjab and asked the State government not to deny the poor their due.
In a statement here, the Union minister said there were reports from across the State that even though the central relief including wheat and pulses for the month of May had also reached the State, the previous ration had not been delivered to them. “Negligible amount of ration has been distributed. This despite the fact that one lakh metric tonnes of wheat and 6,000 metric tonnes of pulses have been received from the centre by the State for 1.4 crore people, which is half the population of Punjab”.
Stating that there was political bias in the distribution of the relief material, Mrs. Harsimrat Badal said Congress leaders were putting pressure on the district administrations to distribute the relief to their supporters first instead of distributing the same on merit. “There are also reports of embezzlement of wheat and pulse stores”.
While asking the State government to start distribution of the relief material without any further delay, Mrs. Badal said the 1.4 crore beneficiaries who were to be benefitted by this scheme also deserved to know why they were not been given the benefit. She said most beneficiaries needed the relief including 15 kg wheat and 3 kg pulses right now. “Not providing the same to them amounts to keeping them hungry even though food material has been sent to them by the centre”.
Mrs Badal urged the people to form village level committees to ensure transparent and meritorious distribution of the relief material and not let Congressmen take over the distribution. She said Congress legislators and leaders should also be asked why the ration which was in the State’s possession was not reaching the villages.