2 years on, Haryana govt resumes mustard oil supply under PDS in Haryana

The government has resumed the supply of 2-litre mustard oil to 18 lakh AAY and BPL families of the state from the month of July at ₹20 per litre

The Haryana government has resumed the supply of fortified mustard cooking oil under the public distribution system (PDS) after a gap of two years.

The state government had decided to distribute fortified mustard oil through the PDS at the rate of two litres per month per family at ₹20 per litre from September 2018, one year before the assembly elections. (Shutterstock)

The government had suspended the supply of mustard oil to all 11.41 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in June 2021 after the prices of the oil increased to ₹200 per litre. Instead of cooking oil and salt, the government had been provided ₹250 per family per month during the period and the move helped the government save around ₹11 crore per month.

Since the Haryana government covers 36.69 lakh PDS card holders — 32.35 lakh BPL and 3.97 lakh AAY, the decision assumes political significance ahead of next years’ Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Haryana Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs director Mukul Kumar said, “The government has resumed the supply of 2-litre mustard oil to 18 lakh AAY and BPL families of the state from the month of July at ₹20 per litre.”

He said the oil will be distributed to families with annual income below ₹1 lakh and the decision about the remaining 15 lakh such families will be taken later.

The government will require 36 lakh litres of mustard oil every month and Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (Hafed) will be given the task of distribution to the beneficiaries in 15 districts, while Haryana Agro Corporation will see the work in the remaining seven districts.

But in March 2021, the prices of Mustard oil witnessed an unprecedented increase and increased to ₹200 per litre forcing the government suspend the supply as the HAFED had said it will not distribute mustard oil and salt to AAY and BPL beneficiaries saying that farmers have sold their mustard yield to private players at higher prices and the HAFED could not procure mustard on minimum support price.

According to a senior official from HAFED the government has decided to resume the supply of mustard as the prices have come down and HAFED procured 34,500 MT of mustard from farmers under e-auction commercial purchase at ₹5,050 per quintal in year 2022-23.