HRF demands immediate restoration of doorstep delivery of rations in tribal areas
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has raised serious concern over the State government's decision to dismantle the doorstep delivery system for distribution of rations.
According to Y. Rajesh, HRF AP State general secretary, and V.S. Krishna, HRF AP& Telangana Coordination Committee member, it a setback to the food security of the Adivasi communities.
Introduced in 2021, the doorstep delivery model ensured rations were handed over directly to beneficiaries through mobile dispensing units (MDUs), even in remote habitations. This reduced the travel burden for the elderly, persons with disabilities and daily wage workers. In Adivasi areas - especially among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) such as the Chenchus resident in Nallamala forests - this system was a critical step towards ensuring ensuring they were able to access the welfare delivery.
At several places, Adivasis are now forced to walk up to 10 km across difficult terrain to access rations. Consequently, many of them are having to forgo their rations altogether because of a clear logistical and financial burden.
The State government's claim that beneficiaries were missing rations under the doorstep system is in contrast to evidence on the ground.
A field survey by LibTech India, a policy research organisation, covering 790 Adivasi respondents in the Paderu ITDA region of Alluri Sitharamaraju district found that 83% preferred the doorstep delivery system over the depot system for collecting rations.
Notably, 92% stated that it had reduced travel distance. While 75% of respondents said that under-delivery was a recurring issue at depots, 65% experienced coercion to purchase additional items. Clearly, for many Adivasi families' residing in remote areas, the doorstep system removed significant travel barriers to access ration supplies.
The doorstep delivery system also allowed flexibility. If a household missed the first MDU visit, they could collect their ration from the mini-truck parked later at the local secretariat. In some instances, the trucks returned again within the month. However, instead of strengthening these mechanisms, the present government has chosen to abandon them entirely.
The HRF leaders allege that the recent rollback appears to have been driven by a powerful lobby of ration depot dealers who felt threatened by the transparency and accountability introduced by the MDU system. The current decision subverts the core objectives of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, in particular Section 30, and also violates the spirit behind the Scheduled Tribe Componen t(STC) funds that aim to ensure targeted and equitable delivery of welfare services to the Scheduled Tribes.
They demanded the immediate restoration of the doorstep ration delivery system across all Adivasi areas, with a provision for depot access to those who miss the MDU. The door delivery model must be strengthened through improved logistics, volunteer support and robust grievance redressal mechanisms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- The Hindu
BJP and JD-(U) slam Lalu Prasad for allegedly insulting Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-(United) leaders on Saturday slammed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad for allegedly insulting Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar by placing a portrait of the Dalit icon at his feet. The BJP media cell circulated the video of Mr. Prasad, in which the ailing leader can be seen seated on a couch with his feet placed on a sofa nearby. A supporter enters the room carrying the portrait and places it close to Mr. Prasad's feet before greeting him on his 78th birthday on June 11, 2025. 'It is very unfortunate that such a shameful act took place in democracy. The act proves that he considers himself a king and does not have any respect for anyone,' said BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary while addressing the presspersons at his official residence in Patna. While showing the video on a tab, Mr. Choudhary further said, 'Not giving respect to anyone and insulting everyone is in the DNA of Lalu Prasad. If there is anyone who has always insulted backward, extremely backward and Adivasi communities, it is the former Chief Minister Of Bihar, Lalu Prasad. His act also proves that he hates dalits.' He pointed out that Mr. Prasad does not evenrespect the party workers and leaders. BJP leader and another Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha lashed out at Mr. Prasad terming him a social criminal. Bihar JD-(U) State president Umesh Singh Kushwaha also issued a statement saying that the insult of Dr. Ambedkar's picture by Mr. Prasad is a direct attack on the self-respect of the Bahujan Samaj and exposes the real mentality of RJD and the truth of its pseudo social justice. 'Lalu Prasad has once again proved that he is a symbol of political feudalism. For him, socialism is just an election slogan, which he has been using just to confuse the common people and enjoy the pleasures of power. It is meaningless to expect respect for Baba Saheb's ideas from a party where democracy and ideology are a mere show,' Mr. Kushwaha said. The JD-(U) State president asserted that people of Bihar will neither accept the arrogance of the Lalu family, nor will they ever forgive the insult of a great man like Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. He alleged that hundreds of Dalits became victims of caste massacre during Lalu-Rabri rule. 'Dalit, backward and deprived society were most affected by the anarchy during the 15 years of Jungle Raj. These incidents were carried out by power-protected criminals under the nose of the Lalu family, which clearly shows that their mentality has been to suppress the deprived society from the very beginning,' Mr. Kushwaha said.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
Immediate continuation of doorstep delivery system for PDS sought
Visakhapatnam: Even as the Andhra Pradesh government decided to do away with the door delivery method of supplying essential commodities to beneficiaries under public distribution system (PDS) from June and restore the previous system of dispensing them through fair price shops, it did draw flak from various sections of society. However, the door delivery system was scrapped following a survey that indicated that a section of ration cardholders did not receive essential commodities, discrepancies in the supply mechanism, operational challenges, diversion of goods, lack of manpower to operate vehicles, etc., Expressing concern over the Andhra Pradesh government's recent scrapping of the doorstep delivery system for public distribution of rations, Human Rights Forum (HRF) representatives mentioned that the move will severely undermine the food security of Adivasi communities, particularly those in remote and interior villages of the state. Introduced in 2021, the doorstep delivery model ensured rations were handed over directly to beneficiaries through mobile dispensing units (MDUs), even in remote habitations. This dramatically reduced the travel burden for the elderly, persons with disabilities and daily wage workers. In Adivasi areas, this system was a critical step towards accessible welfare delivery, especially among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), stressed HRF AP state general secretary Y Rajesh and AP and TG coordination committee member VS Krishna. At several places, Adivasis are now forced to walk up to 10-km across difficult terrain to access rations. The State government's claim that beneficiaries were missing rations under the doorstep system does not align with evidence on the ground, the HRF team pointed out. In fact, a field survey by LibTech India, a policy research organisation, covering 790 Adivasi respondents in the Paderu ITDA region of Alluri Sitarama Raju district found that 83 percent preferred the doorstep delivery system over the depot system for collecting rations. Notably, 92 per cent stated that it had reduced travel distance. While 75 per cent of respondents said under-delivery was a recurring issue at depots, 65 per cent experienced coercion to purchase additional items. Clearly, for many Adivasi families' resident in remote areas, the doorstep system removed significant travel barriers to access ration supplies, the HRF members emphasised. HRF opined that a dual-access model with MDUs as the primary channel and depot-based backup access for those who missed the truck could have been sustained. HRF demanded immediate restoration of the doorstep ration delivery system across all tribal areas, with a provision for depot access to those who miss the MDU. The door delivery model must be strengthened through improved logistics, volunteer support, transparency and robust grievance redress mechanisms.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
HRF demands immediate restoration of doorstep delivery of rations in tribal areas
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has raised serious concern over the State government's decision to dismantle the doorstep delivery system for distribution of rations. According to Y. Rajesh, HRF AP State general secretary, and V.S. Krishna, HRF AP& Telangana Coordination Committee member, it a setback to the food security of the Adivasi communities. Introduced in 2021, the doorstep delivery model ensured rations were handed over directly to beneficiaries through mobile dispensing units (MDUs), even in remote habitations. This reduced the travel burden for the elderly, persons with disabilities and daily wage workers. In Adivasi areas - especially among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) such as the Chenchus resident in Nallamala forests - this system was a critical step towards ensuring ensuring they were able to access the welfare delivery. At several places, Adivasis are now forced to walk up to 10 km across difficult terrain to access rations. Consequently, many of them are having to forgo their rations altogether because of a clear logistical and financial burden. The State government's claim that beneficiaries were missing rations under the doorstep system is in contrast to evidence on the ground. A field survey by LibTech India, a policy research organisation, covering 790 Adivasi respondents in the Paderu ITDA region of Alluri Sitharamaraju district found that 83% preferred the doorstep delivery system over the depot system for collecting rations. Notably, 92% stated that it had reduced travel distance. While 75% of respondents said that under-delivery was a recurring issue at depots, 65% experienced coercion to purchase additional items. Clearly, for many Adivasi families' residing in remote areas, the doorstep system removed significant travel barriers to access ration supplies. The doorstep delivery system also allowed flexibility. If a household missed the first MDU visit, they could collect their ration from the mini-truck parked later at the local secretariat. In some instances, the trucks returned again within the month. However, instead of strengthening these mechanisms, the present government has chosen to abandon them entirely. The HRF leaders allege that the recent rollback appears to have been driven by a powerful lobby of ration depot dealers who felt threatened by the transparency and accountability introduced by the MDU system. The current decision subverts the core objectives of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, in particular Section 30, and also violates the spirit behind the Scheduled Tribe Componen t(STC) funds that aim to ensure targeted and equitable delivery of welfare services to the Scheduled Tribes. They demanded the immediate restoration of the doorstep ration delivery system across all Adivasi areas, with a provision for depot access to those who miss the MDU. The door delivery model must be strengthened through improved logistics, volunteer support and robust grievance redressal mechanisms.
