Following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the State and a month-long lockdown, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has announced that it would provide 10 kg of rice and 2 kg of wheat for free to each member of families belonging to the BPL category. This will be done for May and June.
Officials in the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies said the Centre has allotted extra rice to the State for providing an additional 5 kg of rice per person belonging to BPL families under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for May and June.
Till now, BPL family members have been receiving 5 kg of rice a month.
Last year too, the Union government allocated additional rice to the State for three months (April, May, and June) for providing 10 kg per beneficiary.
The new applicants who have applied for BPL cards are eligible to get 10 kg of rice free per family (not individual) by showing their application number, official sources said.
All APL card holders have to pay ₹15 per kg of rice.
Like other departments, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has stopped using biometric identification for beneficiaries in Public Distribution System shops, which have been kept open for the benefit of the public. There are about 20,000 ration shops in the State.
