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Haryana govt will save around ₹11 crore a month by stopping mustard oil supply under PDS
As per a recent notification, the distribution of mustard oil and salt to beneficiaries through fair price shops has been suspended until further orders. In lieu of it, the government will be directly transferring ₹250 into the bank accounts of over 11.41lakh families for the purchase of mustard oil and salt from June 1.
Haryana government’s decision to stop distribution of two litre mustard oil to below poverty line (BPL) families and beneficiaries of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) will help it save around ₹11 crore every month.
The scheme, through which the government distributes two litres of fortified mustard oil to families at ₹20/litre through the public distribution system (PDS), was started in September 2018
As per a recent notification, the distribution of mustard oil and salt to beneficiaries through fair price shops has been suspended until further orders. In lieu of it, the government will be directly transferring ₹250 into the bank accounts of over 11.41lakh families for the purchase of mustard oil and salt from June 1.
The decision, however, is being criticised by beneficiaries as the retail price of mustard oil has reached an all-time high of ₹180 per litre. Opposition parties too have condemned the decision to cut government expense by ₹90 per family per month.
“Though the government will disburse around ₹28.51 crore every month to the bank accounts of beneficiaries, the move will help the government to save around ₹11 crore every month,” said a senior official from the Haryana social justice and welfare department.
Nasib Singh, a beneficiary from Kurukshetra, said, “Mustard oil is being sold at ₹175- ₹180 a litre. How will we buy two litre mustard oil and one kg salt with ₹250?”
The government, however, maintains that the distribution has been suspended only temporarily. It was stated that Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (Hafed) could not procure mustard at minimum support price of ₹4,650 per quintal as the prices of oilseed had reached beyond ₹6,000.
Though the government has not announced any date for resumption of the distribution scheme, it stated that beneficiaries will be able to get mustard oil from fair price shops once it is available with Hafed.
A mandi manager of Hafed said, “The supply of mustard oil may remain suspended for several months till mustard harvesting in March next year. This year, we were not able to procure sunflower seed also as it was being bought by private players above MSP and farmers sold most of their produce to private buyers instead of Hafed. So, now we do not have much stock even for our sale counters.”
Hafed managing director Dusmanta Kumar Behera did not respond to phone calls or text messages about the possibility of resuming mustard oil supply under PDS.
