Govt to provide subsidised dal to poor from Jan onwards

The list of subsidised household items distributed under the state government’s Anna Bhagya scheme is set to grow longer beginning next year.

The government has decided to distribute dal (pulse) at a subsidised rate to families below poverty line (BPL) from January. All the 1.03 crore BPL families will get one kg dal each per month, which will cost the government an estimated Rs 360 crore per annum. A kg of dal carries a subsidy of Rs 30 and the government will give any of the dal variety such as tur and moong, depending on their availability in the market and the cost, Food and Civil Supplies Department Secretary Harsh Gupta said.

The government is already spending Rs 2,000 crore per annum on the Anna Bhagya scheme. The beneficiaries get free foodgrains (rice, wheat, ragi, jowar), palm oil at subsidised rates and salt every month under the scheme.

Dal distribution has been planned in such a way that it will not be a burden on the government for at least a year. For, Karnataka was entitled for reimbursement of local transportation cost on foodgrains and 50% commission to be given to fair price shop owners from the Union government under the Food Security Act with effect from 2014.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department recently received Rs 330 crore from the Centre. The entire money is being utilised for dal distribution, sources in the government said. The finance department had initially objected to the proposal as there was no budgetary provision. But it finally agreed when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed it to clear the proposal, the sources said.