One Nation, One Card transactions record uptick in Seemapuri amid Delhi-Centre tussle over ration

As reported by The Indian Express on June 11, the entire month of May saw only 159 ONORC transactions in Seemapuri. Using ONORC, migrants with ration cards registered in other states can collect food grains from any fair price shop in the national capital.

The Centre had on Monday questioned the approach of the Delhi government in implementing the ONORC policy, saying it had supplied e-POS (electronic point of sales) machines to all 2,000 FPS shops in the city to ensure the rollout of ONORC, but it was so far implemented only in Seemapuri.

Official records show that out of 275 transactions registered in June, 109 pertain to families from Bihar, while 157 beneficiaries hail from Uttar Pradesh. Two each trace their roots to Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, four to Haryana, and one to Jharkhand.

The Centre said the Delhi numbers were abysmal, especially considering the fact that the city is home to a large number of interstate migrants who are not being able to avail the benefit of ONORC due to its non-implementation.

In a renewed push for the implementation of the doorstep delivery of ration scheme in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Lt-Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday saying the Delhi government had on July 21, 2020, decided to implement the ONORC scheme and activate
e-POS devices in all ration shops of the city.

The disbursal of ration through e-POS devices took place across Delhi during a brief period in early 2018. On April 25, 2018, e-POS operations were suspended by the Delhi government citing irregularities such as misuse of OTPs. Since then, the Centre has been writing to the Delhi government to resume the system.