Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appealed to the Union Minister for Railways, Civil Utilities and Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal, about the outstanding arrears of 3.229 billion crops.
During discussions at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, Mr Jagan said the free rice distribution would continue for two months due to COVID-19, adding that the government had taken effective measures to overcome the pandemic crisis.
Food Safety Act
“Under the National Food Security Act, through December 2015, nearly 1.29 crore ration card holders in the state were supplied with 1,85640 MT rice each month, but as of December 2015, based on the 2011 census, the distribution was down to just 60.96. limited% households in rural areas and 41.14% households in urban areas, where only 0.91 crore ration cardholders received the ration and the allotment was reduced to 1.54.148 MT, “said Mr. Jagan.
He said this was a grave injustice to the state, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat would receive more supplies.
The Prime Minister noted that the rice ration allocation base was set prior to the partition of the state, where all allocations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would be made on the same base without a reality check. He recalled the Supreme Court ruling that the state government was responsible for identifying those eligible for ration cards, and in that regard the government interviewed and identified 1.47 crore ration card holders.
In addition, he said that the poor suffered badly due to inadequate restrictions under the National Food Security Act, the burden of which was borne by the state government, and appealed for this to be addressed as soon as possible. He said the government is sourcing rice for the 2020-21 Rabi season, offering farmers reasonable prices and ensuring on-time payments.