PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Dehradun district magistrate Savin Bansal said that after years of unexplained delay and bureaucratic silence, the administration has cracked the whip on the Civil Supplies department, ordering immediate action on the long-pending issue of opening new government ration shops in urban areas. Acting on reports of public distress and overcrowding at existing outlets, the DM dismissed departmental excuses and issued a strict 15-day ultimatum.
In response, the officials concerned have now floated tenders for 28 new government ration shops, marking a significant shift in ration distribution policy. Bansal informed that following this directive, the department initiated the tender process and released a public notice inviting applications. The process, which initially accepted applications from May 7 to May 27, has been extended to June 15, 2025. The shops will be set up in various localities under the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD), Nagar Palika Parishads and other urban bodies.
He informed that the proposed locations for the new shops include Deepnagar, Chakshahnagar, Defence Colony, Kargi, Dehrakhas, Vidya Vihar, Banjarawala, Muslim Basti, Brahmanwala, Sanskriti Lok Colony, Brahmpuri, Natthuwala, Balawala, Barighat Canal Road, Doon Vihar Jakhan, Ambedkar Chowk, Adwaitanand Marg, Mukherjee Chowk, IDPL, Indranagar, Ashutosh Nagar, Lakkhibagh, Muslim Colony, Bharuwala, Inderpuri Farm Dikota, Bhandari Bagh, Chukkhuwala, Barlowganj, Harbanswala, Maheshwari Vihar, Jain Plot, Nehrugram, Danda Lakhond, Shanti Vihar, Govindgarh, Vijay Park and Choyla-Chandrabani.
The DM stated that the decision was taken after widespread complaints of overcrowding and long queues at existing ration shops, which caused difficulties for residents, especially during extreme weather. The administration aims to reduce this burden by increasing the number of ration outlets in densely populated areas. The Dehradun district has a total of 3.87 lakh ration cards and out of these, only 35,393 cards have been verified and 1,445 have been cancelled. The DM has directed the district supply officer to form teams to verify all types of ration cards across the district.
