Pune district’s ten drought-affected talukas will extend free food grain access to eligible migrant workers and other beneficiaries, allowing them to collect supplies from any convenient fair-price shop instead of only their registered ration outlet. The measure follows the state’s drought declaration covering 304 talukas and is intended to prevent migration for work or water from disrupting food security.
Pune District Supply Officer Mahesh Sudhalkar said officials were taking steps to ensure that no eligible family is denied its entitlement. The arrangements are being implemented under directions issued by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department after the state recorded rainfall deficits and other drought-related impacts between June and September.
Eligible beneficiaries covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013, are to receive food grains without delay. The government has also directed officials to process requests from people in drought-affected talukas who are not currently covered under the national food security scheme. Depending on eligibility criteria, income and available grain stocks, such applicants may be considered for inclusion under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana or the priority household category.
The arrangement relies on the portability facility under the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme. Migrant farm workers and other residents who move in search of employment or water can collect food grains from a fair-price shop other than their usual outlet. Distribution will be authenticated through biometric identification on electronic point-of-sale devices.
For households seeking inclusion or continued access, officials have been instructed to complete Aadhaar seeding for all members listed on the ration card and make food grains available to eligible beneficiaries promptly. The directions recognise a practical problem in drought-hit areas: families may remain entitled to subsidised or free supplies even when they are no longer present near the shop where their ration card is registered.
The government has also directed the district administration to issue ration cards to eligible beneficiaries in drought-affected areas, taking into account the target of cancelled ration cards under the Mission Sudhar initiative. Officials must plan in advance to complete the lifting and distribution of food grains within the prescribed deadlines.
The instructions include tighter monitoring to prevent black marketing, illegal stocking and other irregularities in the distribution system. The implementation of portability, beneficiary identification and local ration-card processing will determine whether migrant households can access their entitlements while moving within or outside their usual locality.
