MUMBAI: Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday asked the Centre to continue free distribution of five kg rice per head and one kg pulses to ration card holders over the next three months too in view of the continuing COVID-19 threat.
The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister said the COVID-19 threat persists and the poor are still jobless and hence, free food grains should be supplied to them in July, August and September too, according to an official statement.
Bhujbal has put forth the demand for three-month extension of free ration distribution before Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, it said.
The Centre had in March announced free distribution of the food grains for April-May-June.
This was over and above what the ration card holders get under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at a highly subsidised price of Rs 2/kg for wheat and Rs 3/kg for rice.
Though the Centre has initiated the process of unlocking to restore normalcy, it will still take some time to give momentum to the economy.
Hence, the free distribution of the food grains by the Centre should continuein July-August-September 2020, too, to give relief to the poor, the statement quoted Bhujbal as telling Paswan.