Chandigarh, April 8 The Haryana cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to further strengthen and streamline the functioning of the public distribution system (PDS) in the state.
As a major step towards women's empowerment, the cabinet has rationalized the 33 per cent reservation for women in the allocation of Fair Price Shop licenses. This will be implemented on a rotational basis, ensuring that every third license is reserved for women.
Within the women's quota, preference will be given to victims of acid attacks, women's self-help groups (at least one per block), widows, divorced/single mothers, Scheduled Caste/BC and general category women.
The cabinet gave its approval to the Haryana Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing & Control) Amendment Order, 2026, which amends the existing Haryana Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing & Control) Order, 2022.
The amendments have been introduced with the objective of enhancing transparency, improving efficiency, and ensuring greater accountability in the allocation and operation of Fair Price Shops (FPS) across the state.
They also aim to promote inclusivity and wider participation, particularly by encouraging women to participate in the system, an official statement said after a cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
The amendment further clarifies various definitions and operational aspects to align them with the National Food Security Act, 2013. It defines key terms such as 'commodity' and 'family' in a more precise manner by linking them with the ration card and Parivar Pehchan Patra records.
The revised order also strengthens the legal and grievance redressal framework for Fair Price Shop owners. A new revision mechanism has been introduced, allowing any party aggrieved by a decision of the Deputy Commissioner to file a revision application before the Divisional Commissioner within 30 days.
Under the revised provisions, the eligibility criteria for obtaining a Fair Price Shop license have been clearly defined and rationalized.
The Haryana Resident Certificate of the current year has been made mandatory for the applicants.
The FPS license shall now be granted to a minimum of 500 beneficiaries, ration card/Parivar Pehchan Patra (family ID) instead of 300 ration cards.
Applicants will now be required to have a minimum educational qualification of 10+2, along with basic computer knowledge. The age limit for applicants has been fixed between 21 and 45 years, and it will be mandatory for applicants to possess a valid PPP and to be residents of the concerned area.
Government employees, existing license holders and their close family members, as well as elected representatives of local bodies, have been made ineligible in order to avoid any conflict of interest and ensure fairness in the allocation process.
Strict provisions have been incorporated whereby any license holder who subsequently assumes an elected position in a local body or joins government service will be required to surrender the license, failing which it will be cancelled.