Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday revealed the state government’s decision to issue 10 lakh new white ration cards after Sankranti. Speaking in the Legislative Council, the minister said that the new ration cards, which will be like Smart Cards, will be issued based on details collected during the recent survey.
“This will an additional Rs 956 crore burden to the state exchequer. Around 18 lakh ration card applications are pending as of now,” he said. “Before reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh, there used to be 91.68 lakh ration card holders in Telangana.
After AP people returned to their places following the formation of Telangana, 2.46 lakh cards were revoked. Currently, there are 89. 95 lakh card holders in the state and a total of 2.81 crore people receiving benefits now,” he said.
Stating that the people are not consuming coarse variety rice, which is being distributed through ration shops, the minister said that soon the government will distribute superfine variety rice. He also said that the coarse rice is being diverted as people are not preferring this variety.
The minister, meanwhile, made it clear that as of now there is no proposal to distribute other essential commodities through ration shops. He also revealed that the government will open ration shops in newly created gram panchayats and tandas.