West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (File)
The Centre has decided to conduct an independent survey to find out whether Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s pet project, Khadya Sathi, has indeed benefited the poor. The Union government provides 60 per cent of the funds for the scheme, under which rice at Rs 2 per kg is distributed among poor in the state.
In a letter sent by B K Gupta, director of the Union Food and Supplies Ministry, to State Food and Supplies Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, the Centre said that the survey would be conducted by an independent agency. The letter, which was received by the West Bengal government on Tuesday, mentions that the Centre wanted to examine how transparently the state government is running the scheme.
Reacting to the letter, State Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said: “I will look at the contents of the letter and decide on the next course of action after discussing (the issue) with the chief minister. We are not giving much importance to the letter since Khadya Sathi is the pet project of the chief minister. To me, this is nothing but unnecessary interference of the Union government into the state’s own projects.” Mullick said “the entire cost (of the scheme) is borne by the state government.”
Khadya Sathi is one of the pet projects of Banerjee and she claims that her government has distributed rice at Rs 2 per kg to almost 98 per cent of the state’s population. Recently, there were allegations of bad quality rice being supplied under the scheme at some places and the state government claimed to have taken action in this regard.
Reacting on the issue, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha asked if the state government is confident that the scheme is run in a transparent manner, then why is it agitated.
For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App
Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya
