BHUBANESWAR: Days after the Centre announced the distribution of free rice under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for a year, the BJP asked the state government to ensure that the ration reached the actual beneficiaries.
Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking care of the food security need of 80 per cent of the country’s population during the Covid-19 pandemic and thereafter, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said around 3.25 lakh people of the state will be benefited.
“The state government has the responsibility for proper distribution of this free rice to the beneficiaries. My expectation from the state government is that none of the beneficiaries will be deprived of the free food grain,” Pradhan told reporters during the launch of 5G service in the city.
Earlier, food grains distributed under NFSA had some cost out of which 90 to 95 per cent was taken care of by the Centre while a minuscule amount was borne by the state government. As the Centre will now bear the entire cost of the ration, the state has the only responsibility for its proper distribution, he added.
Coming to the cost of the free ration, Pradhan said the market rate of 1 kg of rice is Rs 37.28. As the state is entitled to get 1.87 tonnes of free rice every month and the cost of which will be around Rs 700 crore, the annual cost of the free ration at the Centre will be around Rs 8,400 crore. In comparison, the state government will spend Rs 185 crore for people covered under the state food security scheme, he added.
Besides, the Centre has been assisting the state government to strengthen the public distribution system by way of providing financial help for computerisation, modernisation and putting a proper accounting system in place for error-free distribution of rations to actual beneficiaries. BJP had made the hugely subsidised one rupee rice scheme an issue before the 2019 general election to counter the BJD claim that the state government is providing the rice to the people.