AP Govt. cooks the 2 rupees per kilo rice soup
By Editor on Oct 2, 2007 in Andhra Pradesh, Politics
HYDERABAD: Despite opposition from the finance department, the state cabinet has decided to go ahead with the implementation of the Rs 2-a-kilo rice scheme this year itself. Sensing a mid-term election in the air, the scheme is likely to be implemented as early as November itself.
The issue figured at the cabinet meeting held here on Monday. Briefing the media later, information minister A Ramnarayana Reddy said the cabinet discussed the issue at length. Finance minister K Rosaiah is said to have explained the economics of the scheme and said that it would put an additional burden of over Rs 1,000 crore on the exchequer and that it will have to find ways and means to meet the additional expenditure.
The subsidies on rice currently stand at Rs 1913 crore per annum and once the Rs 2-a-kilo rice scheme is implemented, the subsidies will touch Rs 3,000 crore per annum. Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is learnt to have said that keeping in view the political developments and the importance of such a scheme in terms of electoral returns, some way can be found to meet the additional funding of the scheme. The chief minister has reportedly directed the civil supplies department to work out the modalities of how to implement the scheme.
There are about 2.24 crore white card holders in the state. Of this, 1.82 crore have been given white ration cards so far and to begin with, the government plans to implement the new rice scheme for these BPL families.
source: The Times of India
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