The state government will require an additional 10 lakh tonnes of rice for distribution under the Public Distribution System when the Food Security Act is implemented in the state.
The total subsidy burden on the State government would be around Rs 5,800 crore annually, when it implemented Food Security Act. However, civil supplies officials are confident that the additional 10 lakh tonnes of rice required will be supplied by the Centre as it has ensured sufficient quota of rice to all states.
The state government is supplying around 3.30 lakh tonnes of rice every month or around 40 lakh tonnes every year. The state is giving Rs 2,600 crore subsidy per year under ‘Mana Biyyam’ programme under which it is supplying rice at Re 1 per kg.
However, the state government is supplying only 4 kg of rice to each BPL family of up to four persons or 20 kg per family. But, under the Food Security Act, the state had to supply 5 kg of rice to each person and the maximum supply for each family will be 25 kg every month.
For this, the state will need an additional rice quota of 10 lakh tonnes a year and has to spend Rs 2,500 crore on the additional quota.
Besides rice, the sate government, under Amma Hastam scheme, is providing nine essential commodities which costs the government around Rs 660 crore a year.
Civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu, who is in the US, asked officials to implement the Act.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said the state government is already providing food security to 7.50 crore people through the one-rupee-a-kilo rice scheme and nine essential commodities.
