Bengal says no to ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’

Kolkata: Ahead of the June 1 rollout of the Centre’s ambitious ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme, Bengal on Thursday cited “differences of opinion” to stress that it will not implement the scheme in the state. Under the scheme, beneficiaries can buy subsidised foodgrain from ration shops in any part of the country.
Rolled out in June 2019, the ONORC scheme involves 12 states — Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala.Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan had earlier indicated a June 1 time-frame to implement ONORC across the country.
“We have not received any intimation from the central government in connection with its ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme. There is no question of joining them (the Centre) in this matter,” state food minister Jyotipriya Mallick told PTI.
Citing “differences of opinion” with the Centre, the minister said the Bengal government has already spent around Rs 200 crore for issuing digital ration cards, adding: “Who will give the amount back to us? We will not be implementing it (’One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme).”
“Other than that, there is a huge amount of fund which we are due to receive from the central government... It has reached Rs 6,000 crore,” he said. Fund allocation to West Bengal is not the same as that of states like Punjab, though the eastern state happens to be the highest procurer of paddy in the country, Mallick said. “There is complete discrepancy which cannot be understood,” the food minister said.
In recent months, the Bengal government and the Centre had been sparring over several central schemes.
In his January 12 visit to Bengal, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had critised the state government on this issue. Addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, which chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipped, Modi said people in Bengal would not have to miss out on the benefits for long, an apparent reference to the assembly polls next year. TMC has maintained that a bulk of the funds in these central schemes are provided by the state and accused BJP of “dirty politics”.