The state government is making all efforts to give additional 5 kg rice to beneficiaries under Anna Bhagya scheme by September. The government does not intend to continue crediting cash in lieu of rice for long, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters here, Muniyappa said the government was in talks with both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in this regard. “Both the states have agreed to give rice. We are negotiating it for Rs 34 per kg, the price at which we would have procured from the Food Corporation of India,” the minister explained.
The government re-launched the Anna Bhagya scheme on July 10. Under this, beneficiaries are eligible for 10 kg rice, including 5 kg which the Centre allocates under the National Food Securities Act (NFSA). Since the Centre prohibited procurement of rice by state governments under the Open Market Distribution Scheme, the state government decided to credit cash in place of 5 kg rice.
Over the last 20 days, the government has credited Rs 566 crore to one crore beneficiaries under the schemes. In all, 1.28 crore PHH cards are covered under the scheme. Of the remaining 28 lakh families, there are about 5.32 lakh who have not availed rice until now, about 3.4 lakh under Antyodaya who are less than 3 member per family and about 19.27 lakh whose bank accounts are dysfunctional or have not linked Aadhaar numbers. The government is taking up awareness drives about linking bank accounts to cards at the district and taluk-level. The government has also been able to open 1.19 lakh new bank accounts in co-ordination between the post office and the fair price shops, the minister said.
The government has also been able to remove about 3,64 lakh names of deceased people from the beneficiary list.
Meanwhile, there are about 2.95 lakh applications pending for fresh ration cards. The government will look into the veracity of these applications and will issue new cards soon, according to the minister.
Food wastage
There is a huge amount of food that goes waste nationally as people throw-away half-eaten meals at wedding and other functions. The state government will begin an awareness drive, in coordination with the Hotel Owners’ Association to ensure that food does not go waste. “About 25% of the food produced goes waste. This issue needs to be addressed,” Muniyappa said.