Lockdown: Gujarat to provide free ration to 60 lakh APL families

Amid COVID-19 lockdown, Gujarat government announced that it will provide free ration to around 60 lakh Above Poverty Line (APL) families in the state.

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Wednesday said that during the ongoing lockdown it will provide free ration to around 60 lakh Above Poverty Line (APL) families in the state that are not covered under the National Food Security Act.

Each APL-1 card holder family will be eligible to get 10 kg wheat, three kg rice, one kg pulses and one kg sugar free of cost.

This decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. The government has also distributed free ration to around 65 lakh families holding either priority ration cards or Antyodaya ration cards.

"The cabinet has decided to provide free ration to APL-1 card holders, more than 60 lakh families. They will get 10 kg wheat, three kg rice, one kg pulses, one kg sugar perfamily free of cost. The total number of such beneficiaries is around 2.5 crore to 3 crore," Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said after the meeting.

"There are several APL-1 card holders who needed free ration, but were denied because they were not included in the list under National Food Security Act," he said.

The date of distribution will be decided later, but the government has decided to bear the cost of the scheme, he said.

He, however, urged that only those families, which are in crisis and need food grains should come forward to avail the government's scheme.

"Those who are well-to-do should allow only the needy avail the scheme," he said. (PTI report)