'Centre denied us rice': Amid row with centre, Karnataka govt to pay cash instead of promised extra rice stack

On Wednesday, the Karnataka government, after failing to procure the required quantity of rice to roll under its Annya Bhagya Scheme, said that it will pay cash for the additionally pledgedricepromised to BPL (Below the Poverty Line) families under one of the five pre-poll campaign guarantees by the Congress party, TOI reported.

The ruling government said that it would pay Rs 34 per kg for the additional 5 kg.

Centre denied us rice

During the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the government has decided to go for an open-market tender to procure the rice, which will start this Thursday (July 01).

He said, "It is a temporary measure. To keep our word, we have decided to give cash. As and when we get sufficient rice, the cash disbursements will be stopped and rice will be distributed."

In its 2023 assembly elections, the Congress party promised to increase the quantity of rice provided to BPL to 10 kg instead of 5kg.

As government plan ran into a rough patchafter the Food Corporation of India, refused to sell any additional quantity of rice to Karnataka, following a directive from the Centre.

CM Siddaramiah said, "Despite having sufficient stock, Centre has denied us rice. On the other hand, rice is being solf to private players through action. This shows the Centre is trying to scuttle our scheme."

He also argued that the former chief minister's BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai should have asked the cabinet government for rice to be released for the state.

Money will be paid to the heads

The state's minister for food and civil supplies, KH Muniyappa, said that each member of the BPL family will be paid Rs 170 by way of cash transfer at Rs 34 per kg of rice from the month of July.

The minister clarified that if there are five members in a BPL family, then the family will be paid Rs 850 per month, and the money will be directly deposited in the bank account of the head of the family, directly through the direct benefit transfer (DBT).

However, the 1.4 million families to whom the state gave BPL cards, over and above the limit set by the Centre will not be receiving this additional benefit.

HK Patil, the law and parliamentary affairs minister said that the Centre sets the limit for each state to issue the Public Distribution System cards. It added that over and above that, the state government will be bearing the expenses.

"We need 22,000 tonnes of rice to cater to these families. Procuring this quantity will not be a problem for our government."

The Congress party won Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on May 13, 2023.

(With inputs from agencies)

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