E-Paper
Haryana spends ₹195 crore on ration for poor per month: Minister
Food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs minister Mool Chand Sharma directed that new depots should be opened wherever necessary, the minister said it must be ensured that no depot holder has a monopoly in depot allocation
Haryana government spends ₹195 crore per month on ration, which includes ₹89 crore on wheat, ₹95 crore on mustard oil and ₹11 crore on sugar, to ensure that underprivileged people receive their ration quota on time under the Public Distribution System (PDS), said food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs minister Mool Chand Sharma.
Directing that new depots should be opened wherever necessary, the minister said it must be ensured that no depot holder has a monopoly in depot allocation. He said maintaining the credibility of this department is the responsibility of all the officers.
During a meeting, it was informed that the National Food Security (NFS) Act, 2013, was implemented in the state on August 20, 2013, covering Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families and priority household (PHH) beneficiaries. The state has 2.92 lakh AAY ration cards and 43.33 lakh below poverty line (BPL) cards.
Under the NFS Act, the state currently requires 98,000 metric tonnes (MT) of grain per month, with Centre allocating 66,250 MT wheat and the remaining 31,000 MT of wheat expenditure is being borne by the state government. The AAY families receive 35 kg of wheat and BPL families receive 5 kg of wheat per member. Verified families with an annual income of ₹1.80 lakh under the Parivar Pehchan Patra receive two liters of mustard oil under the state government’s scheme.
It was also informed in the meeting that during the 2023-24 kharif season, Haryana contributed 59 lakh MT paddy to central storage, and during the rabi season, 69 lakh MT wheat, as per a press statement.
