Orissa to provide 25 kg. rice to BPL families at Rs. 2 a kg

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Orissa to provide 25 kg. rice to BPL families at Rs. 2 a kg

Bhubaneswar (PTI): In a major relief to the poor hit by soaring prices, the Orissa government on Monday announced that it would provide 25 kg of rice every month to each family living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) at Rupees two per kg from August 1.

"Every BPL family will get 25 kg of rice per month at Rs two per kg from August 1," chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who reviewed the public distribution system (pds) at a meeting, told reporters.

"We hope it will give considerable relief to the poor who are severely affected by price rise," Patnaik said.

Official sources said the decision to provide rice at Rs two per kg instead of the existing rate of Rs 6.30 is expected to put an additional financial burden of about Rs 800 crore on the state government every year.

Besides benefiting about 44 lakh BPL families in the state, the announcement would also cover another 5.5 lakh urban poor families and over five lakh families living Above the Poverty Line (apl) in the backward Kalakandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK) region, they said.

Beneficiaries of Antyodaya scheme, who get 35 kg rice every month at rupees three per kg, would also be provided 25 kg of rice out of their quota at rupees two per kg, they said.

Describing the announcement as historic, state finance minister Prafulla Ghadei said "The government would shoulder the financial burden to provide succour to the poor people to mitigate their plight."