By IANS,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will spend a whopping Rs.1,440 crore (Rs.14.4 billion) next fiscal to provide rice at Rs.2 a kilogram to about 3.7 million families. Of these, some 70,000 families will get it at Re.1.
The Chief Minister’s Food Security Scheme was launched April 1, 2007 to provide rice at Rs.3 a kilogram. This has been subsidised further, the new rates becoming effective April 1 next.
Members of the 3.7 million families account for about 65 percent of the state’s 20.08 million population.
“The government has made all arrangements to ensure that the 3.7 million poor families get rice from the next financial year at further reduced rates through the public distribution system in all the 18 districts,” Food Minister Punnulal Mohile said.
He said the government will also spend an additional Rs.29 crore (Rs.290 million) from the next fiscal for providing free idodized salt to these families.