Bengaluru: After having failed to procure the required quantity of rice to roll out its Anna Bhagya scheme, the Karnataka government decided to pay Rs 34 per kg for the addition 5kg of the food grain promised to BPL families under one of the five pre-poll guarantees issued by the congress.
KH Muniyappa, the minister for food and civl supplies, said each member in families Below the Poverty Line (BPL) will get Rs 170 by way of cash transfer at Rs 34 per kg of rice from July. If there were five members in BPL family then family will receive Rs 850 a month and the money will be deposited in the bank account of the head of the family through direct benefit transfer (DBT) from July 1, the minister clarified. However, about 14 lakh families to whom the state had provided BPL cards, over and above the limit set by the Centre, will not receive this additional cash benefit.
The Centre sets the limit for each state to issue Public Distribution System cards. Over and above that, the state government bears additional expenses. “We need 22,000 tonnes of rice to cater to these families. Procuring this quantity will not be a problem for ourn government, HK Patil, law and parliamentary affairs minister said.
Chief Minister Siddarmaiah launching attack on centre said, “ Despite having sufficient stock, Centre has denied us rice. On the other hand, rice is being sold to private players through auction. This shows the Centre is trying to scuttle our scheme.” Former BJP chief ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai should have asked the Centre to release rice to the state, he added.
At a time when the Karnataka government is running from pillar to post to meet the financial challenges of implementing the five pre-poll guarantees, CM Siddaramaiah, who hold the finance portfolio, is left scrambling for funds to clear mounting dues to the tune of Rs 36,784 core, including Rs 25,000 crore to civil contractors and Rs 8,584 crore to electricity supply companies (Escoms). Siddaramaiah set to present the budget on July 7, these dues pose a huge challenge for him as he has to generate additional resources with politically significant sections such as Streeshakti self-help groups and farmers demanding that their outstanding loans be waived by the government. The Congress government has political obligation to clear the pending dues of civil contractors since their complaint against the erstwhile BJP government over allegation of 40% kickbacks in procuring government contracts had helped the grand old party gain considerable traction with the electorate in the recent assembly polls. Congress’ successful PayCM campaign was based on the contractor association complaint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about allegations of rampant corruption in the BJP –led state government.
