The Union government on Thursday said it has nothing to do with Karnataka’s Anna Bhagya scheme.
Subhod Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary in the Food Ministry, told the media here that the Karnataka government did not consult the Union government before announcing the Anna Bhagya scheme.
“It is a state government scheme and it has to take responsibility to procure and distribute the food grain and not the central government,” he said.
Singh said that Tamil Nadu also asked for additional rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI). “We have told them that we have no stock. Several states have many food grain schemes, including West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. These states themselves procure rice, store it and distribute it through a public distribution system,” he added.
“Like these states, Karnataka can also procure locally available ragi and jowar, consumed by a large section of people of the state and distribute it,” he suggested.
Defending the Food Ministry’s decision to discontinue the sale of rice and wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to all state governments (barring northeast, hilly states and those facing law and order situations and natural calamities), Singh said it is aimed at controlling price rise and not targeted at any particular state.
When asked why the FCI officer in Karnataka permitted the lifting of grains under OMSS to the state government on June 12 but a day later withdrew the same, Kumar said, “There was no information regarding this decision on June 12. FCI and its field officers were informed only on June 13. Soon after that, the approval letter was withdrawn.”
The Congress-ruled Karnataka government, hit by the Union government’s decision, has accused it of going back on its commitment and deliberately preventing it from implementing the scheme in the state.
“The decision was not taken suddenly. It was not deliberate. The order came on June 13 after long inter-ministerial consultations. So, it was not a sudden decision for a particular state, it was for the whole country,” Singh said.
Amid concerns over the monsoon rain, climate change and the geopolitical situation, Kumar said the FCI has to maintain sufficient stock for undertaking timely market intervention to keep prices under control.
FCI Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena said, “If 3-4 states demand more grain for their schemes, the whole stock will be diverted to these 3-4 states. How will we control prices throughout the country? That will be a problem.”