SURYAPET: In a landmark initiative aimed at ensuring food security with dignity, the state government on Sunday launched the country’s first-ever scheme to distribute sanna biyyam (fine variety rice) free of cost to the poor through ration shops.
The scheme was formally launched by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy during a public meeting in Huzurnagar on the occasion of Ugadi. During the launch ceremony, the chief minister handed over fine variety rice bags to 10 beneficiaries.
Under the scheme, the state government will supply six kilograms of fine rice per person per month free of cost through the Public Distribution System (PDS) to all eligible ration card holders, starting April 1. The scheme will benefit over 3.10 crore people, accounting for nearly 85 per cent of Telangana’s population.
Addressing the gathering, Revanth Reddy described the scheme as a “historic” one, stating that the days of the poor eating “inferior” rice were over. “We have created history by launching this scheme. From now, even the poor will eat the rice that rich people consume,” he said.
The CM noted that Telangana produces around 12 lakh tonnes of fine paddy, with Nalgonda district alone contributing eight lakh tonnes.
Both Revanth and Uttam emphasised that coarse rice distributed earlier was rejected by beneficiaries, leading to rampant misuse. “People were selling ration rice for Rs 10 per kg and millers were recycling it and selling it at Rs 50 per kg. This black market was worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore annually.”
Uttam added that earlier 80 to 90 per cent of the ration rice was diverted due to its poor quality and termed the switch to fine variety rice a “game changer in India’s food security landscape.”
Criticising the policies of his predecessor K Chandrasekhar Rao, the CM said: “The idea of providing fine variety rice to the poor never crossed KCR’s mind. Instead, he told farmers ‘if you grow paddy, I will hang you’.”
‘No govt will dare to stop scheme in future’
Revanth contrasted this with the Congress government’s support for agriculture, highlighting that a Rs 500 bonus per quintal was being paid to farmers who produce fine variety paddy. “We are rewarding farmers. We paid Rs 1,199 crore in bonus to 4.41 lakh farmers during the latest procurement,” he said.
The CM also declared that the new scheme is here to stay. “No future government will dare to stop the fine rice scheme. It will continue permanently, regardless of political changes,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Uttam said that the financial burden is substantial but the government is committed to absorbing it and implementing this new scheme for the benefit of people.
“At present, the Union and state government together spend Rs 10,665 crore on the PDS, with the Centre contributing Rs 5,489.5 crore and the state Rs 5,175.5 crore. With new beneficiaries added, the cost will increase to Rs 13,523 crore, and Telangana’s share will rise to Rs 8,033 crore, an additional burden of Rs 2,858 crore, which the government is prepared to bear,” he added.
The minister, meanwhile, said that at the time of formation of Telangana, the state had 89.73 lakh ration cards. “During the 10-year BRS rule, only 49,479 new cards were issued. In contrast, the Congress government resumed the application process, issued lakhs of new cards and started adding eligible family members to existing ones.”
“Currently, Telangana has about 90 lakh ration card holders, covering 2.85 crore people. With pending applications being cleared, this number will rise to one crore, covering 3.10 crore beneficiaries, achieving near-saturation,” he added.