Indus Valley Times

BHUBANESWAR,OCT 2: Close on the heels of the Centre’s decision to extend free rations to the poor by three months, the State government on Saturday directed the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department to extend the benefit to people covered under the State food security programme. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik instructed the department to provide five kilograms of rice free of cost to more than nine lakh beneficiaries for three months from October to December 2022.

The State government will bear additional expenses of Rs 49 crore for supply of 13,575 tonne of rice. The free quota is over and above the normal allocation under the State food security programme which is 5 kg per person per month at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg.

Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said these beneficiaries are covered under the State food security programme as they were not accommodated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). They have been assisted by the State government by supplying them free ration during the Covid pandemic period and after lifting of lockdown restrictions in view of their poor economic condition.

The State government has been extending the pro-poor scheme for those who are still out of the ambit of NFSA, but covered under the State programme. Around 3.26 crore people of the State are covered under NFSA. As the Centre put a cap on the NFSA beneficiaries and tuned down the request of the State government to include additional eligible beneficiaries under the Central scheme, the latter launched its own scheme on October 2, 2018 to cover the left out vulnerable people.

The State government has been assisting these families ever since the Centre is providing free foodgrains to NFSA beneficiaries following Covid induced lockdown from March 2020. Meanwhile, the Centre has extended the pro-poor scheme for multiple times. The recent extension for supply of free foodgrains for three months is the seventh phase.

-PTI