Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced that the state government will distribute five kilogram rice and one kilogram of lentil (arhar dal) free of cost to all ration card holders for three months starting from April. The Odisha government Saturday directed the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department to start the distribution of the rice and dal through the public distribution system (PDS) immediately.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain (Raja Swain) said, “The distribution of free food grains will be in addition to the monthly quota supplied to people covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and State Food Security Scheme (SFSS)”.
The Odisha government has decided to supply the rice and dal for free for the three months of April, May and June to help people deal with the economic crisis that has happened due to the lockdown implemented to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier, the Odisha government had announced three months of advance ration to the card holders. This new scheme will benefit over 3.38 lakh people of Odisha.
Notably, the Centre has directed Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide essential commodities at very cheap rates to all those not covered under NFSA in India. Wheat will be sold at Rs 21 per kilogram and rice at Rs 22 per kilogram respectively for these people.
PNN