Telangana Govt to spend Rs 11000 crore annually for supplying fine rice for free under PDS

Hyderabad, Jan 20 (Representative) Telangana Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday claimed that the state government would be spending nearly Rs 11,000 crore per year on giving fine rice free of cost to all eligible persons under the PDS after the new ration cards come into place. Speaking after attending multiple events in Suryapet district, Uttam said the BRS, which failed to issue even 40,000 new ration cards during its 10-year rule, has no moral right to question the Congress government, which aims to benefit an additional 40 lakh people. He stated that the Congress government, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, is committed to ensuring food security for all deserving and eligible citizens through a fair and transparent process. During the BRS regime, 12,07,558 applications for ration cards were left pending with Mee Seva, while 18,00,515 requests for adding new members to existing cards remained unaddressed.

Additionally, another 10 lakh applications were received during the Congress-led Praja Palana program, the Minister revealed. The state government would consider the information/applications received under caste census, Praja Palana, Praja Vaani, or the Mee-Seva centers for new ration cards. If any person is still left out, he/she can apply for a new ration card in the Gram Sabhas to be held from January 21 to 24, he informed. In total, an additional 40 lakh individuals are set to benefit from the Congress government’s initiative, which begins on January 26, Uttam assured that no eligible and deserving person would be excluded, and no existing ration card would be cancelled. The eligibility criteria are being determined through caste surveys, socio-economic data, and existing records, ensuring that only deserving individuals benefit.

The minister reiterated the Congress government’s promise to provide fine rice under the public distribution system. He confirmed that each person will receive 6 kg of high-quality rice free of cost, with the initiative set to launch after the completion of process of ration cards. Currently, Telangana has 89.96 lakh ration cards covering 281.7 lakh beneficiaries. Of these, 35.51 lakh cards were issued by the state government, while 54.45 lakhs fall under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Rural families earning up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually and specific vulnerable groups qualify for Food Security Cards (FSC) under schemes like Antyodaya and Annapurna, he said. With Telangana’s population projected to reach 3.94 crore in 2024, around 73.63 percent of residents are covered under these schemes, the Minister added. Earlier, Uttam reviewed preparations for the Urs celebrations at Jan Pahad Dargah, inspected the Jan Pahad Lift Irrigation Scheme, and assessed the progress of housing colony works. He also visited Cheruvu Thanda to oversee ongoing development projects.