The state government, which is giving Rs 170 cash per person per month, instead of 5 kg rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme, is confident of procuring required quantities of the foodgrain soon. In an interaction with the staff of The New Sunday Express, Food & Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa speaks about the government’s plans.
Excerpts:
How is the implementation of ‘Anna Bhagya’ going on? If the Centre is not giving rice, what is Plan B?
We will start procuring rice in a couple of months. We will give money for one or two months and after that start providing rice. We have been following it up with agencies, like NAFED, NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar, the state’s food corporation, marketing federation, and consumer federation. We will also call for open tenders in a week. We have been spending the money on 1.29 crore BPL and AAY card holder families, which have 4.42 crore beneficiaries. The cost involved is Rs 841 crore per month and Rs 10,097 crore per year. The allocation has been made in the budget and we will get the approval this week.
The Centre indulged in politics over rice as the minister concerned did not give me an appointment at the first instance. The Centre has a stock of 262 lakh tonnes of rice, while it needs 135 lakh tonnes to distribute to the entire country. Though we were ready to pay and FCI officials were committed, the Centre did a volte-face.
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When there is surplus, they should distribute it to states. The FCI policy is to procure rice from states that produce surplus and distribute it among those who do not produce the foodgrain. There is a circular to this effect. They indulged in politics and created problems as the Anna Bhagya scheme could have worked in Congress’ favour in the Lok Sabha elections. When Manmohan Singh was PM, he did not discriminate against any state.
There is a view that guarantee schemes will make people lazy...
Giving food to someone hungry will not make them lazy. We will know the impact of the scheme after some time. We agree that every individual should work to earn his food and make out a living. We should watch how things pan out and see whether production increases or people become lazy. We will get that assessment in 2024-25 and, if need be, we can take corrective measures. The reason for implementing the project is to not let anyone go hungry.
Look at MNREGA. It had a great impact as the number of BPL families came down from 47 per cent in 2004, before the UPA government came to power, to 35% by 2014. That helped spur development in rural areas. The Anna Bhagya and other guarantees too are similar schemes.
There are over four crore BPL cards as against the population of seven crore in a developed state like Karnataka. How many are genuine beneficiaries?
This issue has been deliberated upon. We have started reality checks and the secretary concerned has been assigned the task. Not all holders use their cards for foodgrains. There are many who use the cards for medical purposes. We are planning to resolve this issue. Yet, already 3 lakh more people have applied for BPL cards.
How many got the money under the Anna Bhagya scheme?
As of July 13, about 28,996 families with BPL and AAY ration cards with 99,05,482 beneficiaries were paid Rs 162.93 crore. The process is on.
What was the basis for announcing the 10 kg free rice scheme?
We have to calculate the requirement per person per month. People also told us that the rice given to them was not sufficient and many suggested that it should be increased to 10 kg. Accordingly, we will give 8 kg of rice and 2 kg of ragi or jowar per person per month.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai accused the state government of reducing 5 kg of rice coming from the Centre to 3 kg...
Bommai has not studied the issue completely. The rice and ragi are given by the Food Corporation of India. They buy ragi from us and put it into the central pool. Then, they distribute it to whichever state requires it. We asked for ragi. It is not new and we have been doing it for many years. Of the 5 kg that the Centre promised, it is giving 3 kg rice and 2 kg ragi. It is nothing to do with the state.
Will you add pulses, sugar and other items?
No. There is no such proposal now. The cost factor will come into play.
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We told them we will purchase rice at Rs 34 per kilo, but they refused. We told them we will pay Rs 10,000 crore annually and they rejected it. With the money, they could have given a good minimum support price to growers and that would have helped the government too. At the same time, the rice would have been consumed. They made it political and that was what the chief minister explained. The Centre’s intention was not good.
There is talk that the quality of rice being distributed is not good...
No, the quality is good and there are no complaints at all.
The government is focusing more on implementing guarantees and will that impact development works?
No, not at all. We have made all the preparations. The chief minister presented the budget for the 14th time. He is an expert and there won’t be any financial constraints for development works. He has balanced it well and also given importance to development works. For the next eight months, we require Rs 35,000 crore for guarantees. We have already launched three guarantees and other two will follow soon.
How are the prospects for Congress in the 2024 LS polls?
In Karnataka, we are confident of winning over 20 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats. BJP failed to fulfill the promises made to the people. They came to power at the Centre in 2014 and 2019 by vertically dividing the country on religious lines. But it won’t work the third time. We have already started working.
What is the basis for your confidence?
The people have realised that their lives and livelihoods are more important than sentiments. I was a Lok Sabha member even during 2014-19 when Narendra Modi was the prime minister for the first time. He made a lot of promises, including two crore jobs, Rs 15 lakh in every citizen’s account etc. But the government did not keep its word. Compared to our UPA, the Modi government did not do anything significant. When UPA was in power, then prime minister Manmohan Singh waived off farmers’ loans to the tune of Rs 72,000 crore, while the Modi government waived off the loans of corporates to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not say how she managed. We had imposed the import duty on silk at 15%, but the Modi government reduced it by 5% which hurt our silk farmers. We had implemented many groundbreaking schemes, including MNREGA. What have they done?
In the LS polls, the country’s security and foreign policies are also the major issues...
Yes, I agree that these are also important factors. The Prime Minister has developed a good relationship with many countries. But we have to keep our house in order.
Will guarantees help the Congress win more seats in Karnataka?
Not guarantees alone. The mistakes committed by the Modi government, including demonetisation which was of no use, will help us. We are showing our commitment by reaching the schemes to the people. We have not implemented the guarantees for the sake of elections. Any popular elected government should look after common people and those deserving.
As a food and civil supplies minister, what are your views on the increase in prices of tomatoes and other vegetables? What is the solution?
Because of excessive use of fertilisers, diseases hit the plants and the production was low. At the same time, the consumption was high.
There is no opposition leader in the Assembly. How is Congress viewing this?
They should have done it much earlier or at least before the beginning of the Assembly session. The opposition should be strong and it is the shadow government. If the opposition is strong, the government will be alert and function more effectively. That is a natural phenomenon. In a democratic system, there should be a leader of opposition in both Houses (Assembly and Council). It is good for them to make the appointments at the earliest.
Your views on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification in a defamation case?
This is vendetta politics by BJP. This has never happened during any government. Even common people are talking about it. A Parliament member was removed for asking a question in Parliament. Was such a move needed? In a democratic system, the opposition should also be strong. Denying an opportunity to talk is not good for democracy. Their action was not good. Now there is a Supreme Court, and I hope we will get justice.