Delhi: No ration card for half the families in India’s most densely populated district

In Northeast Delhi, which is the country’s most densely populated district and among the poorest, 47.88 per cent households have ration cards. Of these, 90.74 per cent regularly avail ration — also the highest percentage of usage in the Capital.

Of the eleven districts in Delhi, households in Northeast Delhi have the highest percentage of ration cards, followed by North Delhi.

In Northeast Delhi, which is the country’s most densely populated district and among the poorest, 47.88 per cent households have ration cards. Of these, 90.74 per cent regularly avail ration — also the highest percentage of usage in the Capital.

The findings are part of the socio-economic survey report prepared by the Delhi Directorate of Economics and Statistics between November 2018 and November 2019. Over 20 lakh households were part of the survey.

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Southeast Delhi, which comprises areas such as Nizamuddin, Sarita Vihar and Tughlakabad, among others, has the least number of households with ration cards — 33.91 per cent of surveyed households. At 75.11 per cent, however, the district with the lowest usage is Southwest Delhi.

The survey was designed in the backdrop of the death of three minor girls in East Delhi’s Mandawali in 2018. The three were categorised as hunger deaths and it was later discovered that the family did not have a ration card.

Access to phones and computers

The survey also looks at access to computers, internet and phones across the city. More than 21 per cent of the 20.05 lakh households surveyed use desktops or laptops. Of these, 80.15 per cent have an internet connection. At 83.62 per cent, East Delhi has the highest proportion of households where computers have internet connections. The district with the least number of households with computers — at 85.89 per cent of households — is North East Delhi.

The pattern is dissimilar when it comes to mobile phones, with 93.83 per cent of all households in the city in possession of a mobile phone. Only 0.53 per cent households still have access only to a landline. A little over 3% households have neither a landline nor a mobile phone.

The highest proportion of households which only have a mobile phones is Northeast district with 96.61 per cent households falling in this category.