Andhra govt to introduce cash transfer scheme as alternate to PDS rice supply | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Andhra govt to introduce cash transfer scheme as alternate to PDS rice supply

By, Hyderabad
Apr 22, 2022 01:12 AM IST

As per this system, the Andhra government would pay the cash amount to the people in place of their ration quota of rice supplied through fair price shops under the public distribution system.

The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has come out with a direct cash transfer scheme for the consumers who do not want to take rice under the public distribution system from fair price shops.

The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has come out with a direct cash transfer scheme for the consumers who do not want to take rice under the public distribution system from fair price shops. (HT Photo)
The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has come out with a direct cash transfer scheme for the consumers who do not want to take rice under the public distribution system from fair price shops. (HT Photo)

According to state civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao the scheme would be implemented on a pilot basis in select parts of the state from May. “A survey would be conducted on the implementation of the scheme, and based on the feedback, steps would be taken to extend the scheme across the State,” he said.

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In the first phase, the scheme will be implemented in parts of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle, Narasapuram, Kakinada and Nandyal districts. As per this system, the government would pay the cash amount to the people in place of their ration quota of rice supplied through fair price shops under the public distribution system.

The beneficiaries would have to sign a consent letter to this effect. In the areas identified for the pilot project, the village volunteers have already started taking the consent from the beneficiaries, and it will close this weekend.

The applications would be scrutinised by the village revenue officer, who would send them to the tehsildar for approval on April 25. Once the tehsildar approves, the money would be credited to the account of the beneficiaries who don’t want rice, with effect from May 1.

“It is only optional, and there is no compulsion. The beneficiaries are free to decide whether to take cash or ration rice. Even if a beneficiary takes cash instead of ration rice, he or she can change the option the very next month, if needed,” the minister said.

The government has not yet decided how much money the beneficiaries would be paid instead of rice. “It might range from 15 to 16 for a kg of rice,” an official of the civil supplies department said on the condition of anonymity.

The scheme of direct transfer of cash into the bank accounts of beneficiaries of PDS instead of providing food grains is already being implemented on a pilot basis in the three Union Territories of Chandigarh, Puducherry and urban areas of Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

A statement made by Union minister of state for consumer affairs Danve Rao Saheb Dadarao in Rajya Sabha last year said the scheme of cash transfer of food subsidy was being implemented as per provisions of the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules, 2015, notified under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

Retired IAS officer and former Union secretary (finance) E A S Sarma said the cash transfer scheme instead of ration rice to the consumers was not appropriate in states like Andhra Pradesh, where the PDS was being effectively implemented.

“We have a strong ration shop dealers’ network, and of late, the PDS rice is being directly delivered to the doorsteps of consumers at the subsidised price. They won’t be able to purchase the same quantity at the same price in the open market,” he said.

Moreover, there is every possibility that the consumers would spend the money for some other purposes – men for liquor and women for other petty household things. “It will ultimately affect the food security of the people,” he said.

Senior Telugu Desam Party lawmaker Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary said the move to transfer cash in place of PDS rice would give a severe setback to the concept of food security. “TDP founder and former chief minister N T Rama Rao brought 2 a kg rice scheme to ensure food safety of the poor people. Now, the people will be forced to buy rice at a very high price in the open market,” he said.

BJP state president Somu Veerraju said there was a largescale conspiracy in the decision to transfer money into the accounts of consumers instead of rice. The government was planning to phase out ration cards gradually and export rice abroad to make big money, he alleged.

The state civil supplies and consumer affairs minister, however, refuted the allegations and said nobody would lose the ration cards if he or she chooses cash transfer. “We shall continue to issue ration cards to the eligible beneficiaries,” he said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience.

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