Odisha to give 5 kg addl rice free to 2.7 million poor families for next 3 months: Majhi

Majhi said each eligible family in eight KBK districts, including Boudh, Gajapati, and Kandhamal, will receive 5 kg of free rice per month for the next three months

Published on: Aug 15, 2025, 19:54:47 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said more than 2.7 million poor families in 11 districts would receive 5 kg of additional rice for three months free of cost in addition to the rice being supplied under Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

FILE PHOTO: Labourers unload rice crop from a trolley in a grain market. (REUTERS/Representative Image)

Speaking at a function here on Friday, Majhi said each eligible family in eight KBK districts, including Boudh, Gajapati, and Kandhamal, will receive 5 kg of free rice per month for the next three months. Majhi said the government will spend ₹180 crore to distribute 41,082 tonnes of additional rice among them.

The announcement comes after the state government decided in July to suspend ration distribution to 2.058 million beneficiaries who have not completed the mandatory e-KYC for their ration cards.

At the time, food supplies and consumer welfare minister Krushnachandra Patra had declared that beneficiaries had three months to complete the process or face permanent cancellation.

Officials said the decision would also help ease the pressure on the state’s godowns, which were holding surplus parboiled rice. The Food Corporation of India is not lifting parboiled rice from Odisha and the three other states, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, haven’t evinced interest in lifting parboiled rice either.

FCI has so far lifted 14.33 lakh tonne till the end of July, leaving a stockpile of nearly 12 lakh tonne with the rice millers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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