Kejriwal clears door step delivery of rations

Overruling "all objections", Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he has approved the scheme of doorstep delivery of rations, which was one of the sticking points between his government and Lt Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal.

Kejriwal also directed PWD Secretary to place the proposal for installing CCTV cameras, another contentious issue, in next Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

"Approved Doorstep Delivery of Rations. Overruled all objections to the proposal. Directed Food Dept to start its implementation immediately," Kejriwal said on Twitter. "Directed department to keep me informed of daily progress," he said in another tweet.

The L-G holding up the approval for the doorstep delivery scheme was one of the flashpoints for the recent sit-in by Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues at Raj Niwas for nine days.

Baijal had objected to the Delhi government's ambitious proposal of doorstep delivery of rations and asked the AAP dispensation to consult the Centre before executing it.

The approval for one of its flagship programmes came soon after the Supreme Court judgement on Wednesday, which cautioned the Lt Governor not play an "obstructionist" role.

The AAP government had cleared the proposal delivering wheat/flour, rice and sugar for eligible beneficiaries at their residences in March.

However, Baijal did not clear it then and asked the Delhi government to refer the proposal to the Centre.

"Very sad that LG has rejected doorstep delivery of ration scheme. I had repeatedly requested him to give me an audience before taking a decision but he did not. Feeling really really sad that such imp proposals are becoming victims of petty politics," Kejriwal had tweeted in March.

The CCTV issue had also snowballed into a controversy with the L-G not giving his nod and set up a committee to prepare a common regulatory framework. This was opposed by the Delhi government.