Proposal on raising BPL income ceiling to ₹3 lakh will be placed before Cabinet: Minister
The Karnataka government is considering raising the annual income ceiling for eligibility under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category from ₹1.20 lakh to ₹3 lakh
The Karnataka government is considering raising the annual income ceiling for eligibility under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category from ₹1.20 lakh to ₹3 lakh, based on the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission, K.H. Muniyappa, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister, said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after a review meeting of the State’s guarantee schemes, chaired jointly with H.M. Revanna, Chairman of the Karnataka State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Committee, Mr. Muniyappa said the proposal was aimed at expanding access to welfare benefits for eligible families. “I am planning to place it before the Cabinet soon,” he said. Indira kit distribution Pointing out that the department was also implementing the ‘Anna Suvidha’ scheme to deliver ration to the doorsteps of elderly and vulnerable beneficiaries, Mr. Muniyappa said the work on rolling out the proposed Indira food kit under the Anna Bhagya scheme in the next two to three months was also under way.
He said the tender process was in its final stage for the scheme, estimated to cost around ₹6,000 crore. “The process has taken time because of the scale of the project and the need for scrutiny,” he said. The objective of the scheme, he said, was to encourage consumption of nutritious food along with rice. Ragi, jowar in food basket The Minister said the distribution pattern of 10 kg foodgrains to 4.42 crore beneficiaries under the Anna Bhagya scheme had been revised. Beneficiaries now receive 7 kg of rice and 3 kg of ragi. Of this, 5 kg of rice is provided by the State government and the remaining allocation is under the Centre’s share comprising 2 kg of rice and 3 kg of ragi. The State has procured 5.60 lakh metric tonnes of ragi under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme, which is being processed for distribution.
In North Karnataka, where ragi consumption is relatively low, beneficiaries would receive 2 kg of jowar and 8 kg of rice instead of 3 kg of ragi and 7 kg of rice, as adequate quantities of jowar were not available under MSP procurement, he said. Fair price shops Muniyappa said officials had been instructed to keep all 20,259 fair price shops in the State open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to facilitate ration distribution. Beneficiaries facing problems can lodge complaints through the department’s toll-free Anna Helpline (1967), he said. He added that the government had also discussed displaying photographs and contact details of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers, and the Chairman of the Guarantee Schemes Implementation Committee at all fair price shops. Steps to curb diversion K.H. Muniyappa on Friday said the department was setting up a command and control centre at the department headquarters to monitor vehicles carrying Public Distribution System (PDS) grains to prevent diversion to the black market.
The BriefWire