BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Friday extended the distribution of an additional 5 kg of rice free of cost per month to beneficiaries of the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) for six more months.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made the announcement on the occasion of Utkal Divas. This will cover 8.09 lakh beneficiaries under SFSS. As per the Chief Minister’s directive, each beneficiary of the SFSS will get an additional 5 kg of rice from the allotment month of April 2022 to September 2022.
“For this purpose, 24,270 tonnes of rice will be supplied from the State pool with an expenditure of `91.7 crores from the State’s own fund,” a release issued by the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) said. This will facilitate beneficiaries enrolled in the SFSS to remain at par with the 3.26 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, the CMO said.
While the Centre provides rice to the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA, the State government has extended it to 8.09 lakh people left out of the Central scheme. The Odisha government provides rice at the rate of `1 per kg under the SFSS. The 5 kg rice scheme was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The State government had earlier extended the benefit of 5 kg of free rice for the SFSS beneficiaries from December 2021 to March 2022 after the Centre launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) during the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘
The Centre had recently extended the free food grain distribution scheme under the PMGKAY for six more months from March 2022. Under the PMGKAY, the Centre gives an additional five kg of rice or wheat per month to beneficiaries of the (NFSA) over and above their usual monthly quota for free.