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The Karnataka state Congress government, which is behind schedule to procure 2.29 lakh metric tons of rice to implement a monthly scheme of 5kg free rice for the poor from July 1, is reaching out to central agencies after the Food Ministry excluded rice supplies from the US. Food Foundation of India.
Free rice, guaranteed by the Congress before the elections, will be provided, as well as a 5 kg fee rice scheme being implemented by the BJP-led central government.
The prime minister, who has accused the center of deliberately denying the country access to low-cost rice supplies through the FCI, indicated on Saturday that the country has requested quotations and is negotiating with central agencies to secure rice supplies for a year.
“We wanted to start the free rice scheme also from July 1, but we are not getting rice supply. We thought of getting it from Punjab and Chhattisgarh. We have spoken to Chhattisgarh, we have spoken to Telangana, we have spoken to Andhra Pradesh, but we are not getting the quantity required by the state. Even if an offer is possible, they quote high rates.
“We need 2.29 thousand metric tons of rice for the Anna Bhagya project. This quantity is not available with any country. Telangana says they cannot provide rice but they can provide alternative. Chhattisgarh says it will supply for a month and what happens in the second month? Punjab said they cannot They said they can supply in November and they don’t have stock at the moment. Also, the required quantity is not available, he told reporters in Andhra state.
Siddaramaiah’s remarks came a day after the Union Food and Civil Supply Minister, Piyush Goel, informed the Food and Civil Supply Minister, Piyush Goel, that the Federal Food Commission would not be able to supply rice for the project because the central government had restricted the sale of rice stocks from the FCI to control inflation.
As a result, what we do is network with other government agencies such as the NCCF (National Consumers Cooperative Federation). We are looking for quotes. We are approaching Kendriya Bandar, also a central government agency, and the National Federation of Cooperative Agricultural Marketing (NAFED). All three organizations have submitted quotations and negotiations are ongoing,” said Siddaramaiah. “Once the discussions are complete, we will have a picture of the amount of rice they will provide, the quality of rice and the supply schedules.”
Karnataka is seeking 2.29 lakh metric tons of rice at a cost of about Rs. 840 crore per month to facilitate the free rice scheme.
Mr. Siddaramieh indicated that the state may resort to supplying 2 kg of ragi and gwar as an alternative to part of the 5 kg rice plan if it is unable to secure the necessary supplies of rice.
We have a six month supply of ragi and gwar and it can be served instead of rice. We can give 2 kg of ragi in Old Mysore district and 2 kg of jowar in the northern parts. There is still a shortage of 3 kilograms of rice. this is the problem. “There is a short supply of al-Raji and al-Jawwar throughout the year,” he said.
Earlier this week, Siddaramaiah stated that the free rice scheme may not meet its July 1 launch deadline, but the scheme will be launched at any cost. It has been alleged that the BJP government’s decision to stop FCI rice sales to states was a political move aimed at influencing the free rice scheme in Karnataka. He also claimed that FCI agreed on June 12 to supply the rice.
As I mentioned before, our program for the poor is being hampered by the center and they have not agreed to give us access to rice supplies. They have a large amount of rice. There are tons of cedar caves. They are willing to give it away to private parties and auction it off. But they insist they will not supply rice to the states. We do not require free rice. We said we are willing to pay the costs. We get 5 kg of rice from concentrate and it costs Rs 36.70 and we are willing to pay the same. 36.70 rupees per kg of rice. Let them give it to us when they have plenty of stock.”
“What is the point of not supplying rice? Don’t they want to give rice to the poor? Are they indulging in a policy of revenge? Should we call it pro-poor or anti-poor? The people of the state should think about this,” said the Chief Minister.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has threatened protests if five promises made by the Congress to the people ahead of the 2023 elections are not implemented by July 4.
However, Siddaramaiah questioned the BJP’s right to organize protests. We apply the five safeguards. We have started one program. From the first week of July 1, the Free Energy Savings Scheme (Gruha Jyothi) will start.”
After meeting with Goel in New Delhi on Friday, Munyappa said the center rejected the state’s request for rice despite the availability of 262,000 metric tons of rice in the central pool against the reserve stock of 135,000 tons of rice. “We have ordered rice for BPL cardholders. It is not possible. It is politically motivated,” he (Goyal) said. “The minister is not willing to provide rice though it is available,” he told reporters in Delhi.
The food minister said there are more than 1.19 crore BPL card holders and 4.42 crore free rice scheme beneficiaries in the state. The state proposes to give each member of the BPL family 5 kg of free rice plus 5 kg of concentrate.
While the state government has set a requirement of 2.29 lakh mt of rice for the state scheme (the state beneficiaries of BPL 39 lakh also includes other than the nearly 4 lakh beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act), the central scheme includes a supply of 2.17 lakh mt. tons for Rs 1.17 crore for BPL card-holder households under the National Food Security Act.
On June 13, the center stopped selling rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments due to inflationary pressures.
Muniyappa said the state government was using OMSS to supply rice to ration card holders for BPL 10.9 lakh — more than the Rs 1.17 crore BPL cards specified under NFSA. He said the state has been providing an extra kilogram of rice to all ration card holders for the past seven months using the OMSS facility.
“The sudden stop of the OMSS has prevented the possibility of getting rice from FCI for the state scheme. It is difficult not only to give an extra 5 kilograms of rice to each member of the BPL family per month from July 1, but also to provide the monthly ration,” said the state food and civil supply minister of the state. of food grains for 39,000 beneficiaries of government ration card holders.
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