Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government has decided to provide 5kg of rice to BPL families instead of cash under the Anna Bhagya scheme starting in February.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa on Wednesday said that a decision to stop giving cash to BPL families from February and supply rice has been taken following a commitment by the Union Government to provide the required quantities of rice to the state.
The Congress Government started giving Rs 170 to each person of a BPL family member in lieu of 5kg rice after it took over the reins of administration in July 2023. The decision was prompted after the Food Corporation of India (FCI) rejected the state's request for a supply of additional rice to meet Congress' poll promise of giving 10kg of rice to each member of a BPL family free of cost.
"Now that the FCI has agreed to provide an additional 2.1 lakh metric tonnes of rice per month at Rs 22 per kg, we have decided to provide rice instead of cash. The supply of rice will start from this month itself," Muniyappa told the reporters.
With this, the state government is expected to save around Rs 190 crore per month as it used to give Rs 175 per person at the rate of Rs 34 per kg. Since the start of the scheme, the State Government has disbursed Rs 10,452 crore to over 4.12 crore people till October 2024.
Muniyappa also said that the process of disbursal of cash component for the months of November, December and January is on and soon the beneficiaries will receive cash into their bank accounts. "The cash component was not disbursed for the past three months owing to the ongoing physical verification of BPL cards," he added.
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