Bengaluru: The state government’s ambitious scheme to distribute essential commodities at an affordable price has gone for a toss as the Department of Food and Civil Supplies has stopped providing salt, sugar and edible oil at highly subsidised rates to over one crore Below Poverty Line (BPL) families across the state.
Now it will only supply rice free of cost and 1 kg of tur dal per family/per month at a concessional rate of Rs 30 per kg as against the market price of Rs 70 per kg.
“Yes, we have discontinued the supply of salt at Rs 2 per kg, sugar at Rs 18 per kg and edible oil at Rs 22 per litre to BPL cardholders. However, we are compensating by supplying tur dal which is highly nutritious,” Food and Civil Supplies Minister, U T Khader told DC.
Explaining that the government was spending Rs 10 crore, Rs 30 crore and Rs 20 crore on the subsidised sale of salt, edible oil and sugar respectively, every month, he said it now needed another Rs 43 crore a month to distribute the subsidised tur dal to all BPL families and could not afford this as well.
“We are providing 7 kg of rice free of cost to each member in a family to make the state hunger- free. Rice and tur dal are enough to keep anyone fit and fine,” he maintained.
Holding the Centre responsible for discontinuing the distribution of sugar at the highly subsidised rate, Mr Khader said earlier it gave a subsidy of Rs 18 per kg on rice and the state government contributed Rs 10 per kg from its kitty. But in the last budget, the Centre removed the subsidy leaving the state to bear the entire cost.“We had no option but to stop supplying sugar in the PDS,” he added, claiming that salt supply was stopped as many wanted a particular brand, that cost Rs 15 per kg, which was beyond the government's reach.
