GURUGRAM: Residents seeking a licence to operate a ration depot have until 10 November 2026 to apply under Haryana’s current allocation round. The Food and Supplies Department announced the deadline on 13 October, inviting online applications for 2,651 vacant fair price shops across the state through the Antyodaya SARAL portal.
The department’s location-wise list includes 158 vacancies across 142 entries for Gurugram district, according to a Dalimss News count of the published rows. Of these, 52 are marked reserved for women and 106 are listed in the “Vacancies for All” column. These are district figures, covering rural and municipal locations, rather than vacancies within Gurugram city alone.
Officials say the allocation is intended to improve access for eligible households whose existing depots are far away. The state announcement specifies 33 per cent reservation for women. Applicants should use the published local roster to identify a vacancy rather than treating the statewide total as a list of places where anyone can apply.
Match the vacancy to your locality
The roster distinguishes Gurgaon MC, Manesar MC, Sohna MC, Pataudi Mandi and Farrukhnagar municipal entries from block-level village entries. The same ward number can appear under different local bodies, so the location and administrative unit need to be read together.
For example, Gurgaon MC Ward 24 has three openings, including one reserved for women, while Ward 23 has two openings in the column for all applicants. Ward 21 has one women-reserved opening. Garhi Harsharu under Manesar MC has two vacancies, split between the two columns.
The eligibility rules are set out in Haryana’s 22 April 2026 amendment to its licensing order. Applicants must be aged 21 to 45 when applying, have passed Class 12 or an equivalent qualification, possess basic computer knowledge and hold a Parivar Pehchan Patra. The rules also require local residence and a current-year Haryana resident certificate.
Existing fair price shop licence holders cannot apply. Restrictions also cover specified close relatives of existing owners and sitting local-body representatives. Sarpanches, panches and municipal members are ineligible, as are permanent or contractual employees of the state or central government. The order’s full definition should be checked before assuming that meeting the age and education conditions is sufficient.
Application and verification are separate stages
The department’s application guide directs residents to sign into SARAL, select the new FPS licence service and follow the link to the Haryana Public Distribution System portal. There they can check available vacancies, choose the relevant location and enter their Family ID. Personal details are drawn from the HPPA database where available, with missing mandatory information supplied online.
Applicants must enter the proposed business premises, review the form and retain the application number generated after submission. The guide says an SMS confirmation will also be sent. Submission is followed by field verification and departmental scrutiny; the competent licensing authority takes the final decision.
For that visit, the checklist calls for original documents and applicable self-attested copies. It includes education and computer-knowledge certificates, premises ownership or tenancy proof, a site map, photographs, income proof and the prescribed undertakings. The applicant or an authorised representative should be available at the stated address. Missing documents can delay processing or lead to rejection.
What running a depot involves
The underlying 2022 licensing order sets continuing duties for shop operators. A prominently displayed notice board must carry current information such as opening hours, commodity entitlements, issue prices, stock details and grievance contacts. Operators must maintain records, produce them for inspection and use electronic weighing equipment verified by Haryana’s Legal Metrology Department.
The order also prohibits retaining a beneficiary’s ration card after distribution and denying entitled supplies that are in stock. Applying therefore involves responsibility for public distribution and record-keeping, alongside meeting the entry requirements.
For other district services, Dalimss News has reported on Gurugram’s Samadhan complaint camps and the separate October and November deadlines for women’s awards. Those programmes have their own procedures and do not form part of the ration-depot allocation.
