Naidu's Sankranti gift to cost 300cr

HYDERABAD: Taking forward the welfare face of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has decided to hand over a gift hamper to 1.3 crore families for Sankranti.
The move is expected to cost over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. In June, the chief minister had distributed gift packs to Muslims on Ramzan in the name of Chandranna Ramzan gift.The TDP government distributed five kg wheat, two kg sugar and one kg sevaiyan free of cost to all Muslim families in the state as Ramzan gifts.
Now, Naidu has decided to present "Chandranna Sankranti Kanuka" to people living below the poverty line.
This is the second time the TDP government is doling out a festival gift pack worth Rs 280 to poor families in the state.
In January, the TDP government distributed a gift pack by spending Rs 287 crore. Enthused with the response from the poor, Naidu has decided to repeat the act next January with an attractive packet.
The proposed gift pack worth Rs 280 would contain half a kilo each of red gram, palmolein oil and jaggery, one kilo each of whole Bengal gram, wheat flour and 100 gm of ghee. This would be in addition to the regular items given through public distribution system such as 20 kg rice, one kilo wheat, half kilo sugar and kerosene.
"Last year, there were complaints over the quality of commodities and packaging. This time, we have taken all precautions to provide fine quality commodities in a leak-proof packet," said a senior official in civil supplies department.
To clear doubts over procurement of commodities, it was decided to call a national tender in national commodities exchange.
Based on the quality and price, the tender will be awarded to the company that quotes the lowest price. Sources in the civil supplies department disclosed that the scheme would cost more this year with prices of almost all commodities recording a 30 to 50 per cent increase in the last one year. Especially, prices of pulses have been doubled in the current year.
Due to steep hike in the price of red gram and Bengal gram, the state government has revised the price of the packet from Rs 220 to Rs 280.
Many doubts are raised over the huge expenditure on the scheme and burden on the state exchequer at a time when the state finances are not very conducive to such doleouts.
"The state government is reeling under severe financial distress and spending over Rs 300 crore in the name of a gift hamper is not justified," observed a senior official in the government.