The Ration Cards Scheme has been launched to facilitate the poor people and all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that these are issued only to the needy.
"The scheme has been initiated on the directives of President and Prime Minister to provide relief to the low-income people and the cards would be provided to them after proper and sufficient inquiry," Managing Director Utility Store Corporation (USC) Brigadier Hafeez Ahmed (Retd) told APP.
He said the USC would continue its routine operations adding that the provision of Ration Cards did not mean that there was food shortage in the country. The Utility Stores Corporation would launch Ration Cards scheme by February 8 to facilitate the deserving and low-income people get essential items at reduced rates.
Hafeez Ahmed said that under the directives of Prime Minister a committee consisting of representatives from Ministry of Food, Ministry of Social Welfare, Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal and other related ministries had been constituted to finalise methodology for issuance of these cards by January 29.
The committee would work on daily basis to ensure that the scheme is launched by February 8, he added. To a question, he said the cards would not be provided by USC but Ministry for Social Welfare would be responsible for this task.
To another question, he said that the expansion programme of utility stores at union council level was going on successfully and number of utility outlets had reached to 4700. The MD USC said per month sale of corporation had reached to Rs 4 billion adding that it was increasing with each passing day.