Ludhiana: Allotment of 757 ration depots remains stalled
No notification has been issued to explain the delay or to provide a timeline for when allotments will take place, leaving hundreds of families, many from disadvantaged sections waiting without any clarifications
The allotment of 757 ration depots in Ludhiana district has been hanging on fire for the past four months, leaving hundreds of applicants in a state of uncertainty. Despite completing the process of inviting applications and extending deadlines, the food supplies and consumer affairs department has failed to move forward, with no official explanation given to those who have applied, officials familiar with the matter said.
Reportedly, the depots were planned to ease the mounting pressure on the existing public distribution system (PDS) and provide employment to marginalised groups such as women self-help groups, widows, riot victims, handicapped citizens, freedom fighters, and retired soldiers. A notification for allotment was issued on April 7, covering new vacancies as well as those advertised in 2023 and 2024. Applicants were asked to apply by April 24, with the deadline later extended to May 15. Since then, the process has remained stalled, officials added.
Notably, the delays have hit those who applied in previous years even harder. They were instructed not to reapply in 2025 under fresh guidelines, but their applications remain pending with no clarity on whether they are still valid.
“I applied for a depot in 2023, and we were clearly told not to reapply this year. For two years, I’ve been waiting, investing time and hoping to support my family through a ration depot. But the government has kept us completely in the dark. We deserve to know if our applications even matter anymore,” said Gurpreet Kaur, a widow applicant from Ludhiana East.
According to the department’s data, Ludhiana East was allocated 263 rural and 103 urban depots, while Ludhiana West was earmarked for 278 rural and 113 urban depots. Of the total 757 depots, 416 were to go to the General category, followed by 101 for Scheduled Castes, 75 for riot victims, 53 for retired soldiers, 38 each for Freedom Fighters and Backward Classes, 21 for handicapped citizens, and 15 for women.
Meanwhile, senior officials asserted that the delay is linked to the statewide exercise of striking off ineligible and “silent” beneficiaries from ration card lists, which has reduced the overall volume of ration card holders. “Until this exclusion drive is complete, the allotment of new depots has been kept on hold,” they said.
However, what is fuelling frustration among applicants is the absence of any formal communication from the department. No notification has been issued to explain the delay or to provide a timeline for when allotments will take place, leaving hundreds of families, many from disadvantaged sections waiting without any clarifications.
“These depots would have not only generated employment but also reduced the hardships of ration card holders who currently travel long distances to collect their supplies. The delay is deeply unfair to both beneficiaries and applicants,” said Karamjit Singh Arechha, national assistant secretary and state president of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation.
When contacted, Sartaj Singh Cheema, district food supplies controller (Ludhiana West) said,” The stalemate regarding these new depots are a statewide situation. Earlier, we have invited these applications in tandem with the instructions from Punjab food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department. As soon as we receive the new orders from the head authorities, we will move forward with these allotments.”
