Jamshedpur:
Jharkhand Food and Civil Supply Minister Mathura Prasad Mahto today said 50 to 60 lakh new ration cards would be introduced in the state to reach benefits to the poorer section of people.
"The process of making new ration cards is on and we expect to allot the cards among 50 to 60 lakh people by the end of April," Mahto said after attending a departmental meeting with officials of Kolhan division comprising East and West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharswan districts here.
The minister said of the new ration cards, 35 lakh was meant for people living above poverty line while the rest for the people living below poverty line.
Stating that the basic purpose of the meeting was to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS), he said the government has proposed to provide new items from PDS counters rather than wheat and rice only.
"Besides rice and wheat, we will provide pulses (dal), salt and oil to the beneficiaries from the next fiscal and we have suggested to the government to allot Rs.760 crore for the department against last year's budget of Rs. 500 crore."
The minister said Jharkhand State Food Corporation (JSFC) has started functioning from February 1 and the Principal Secretary of the department, Rajbala Verma will be acting as its Chairman-cum-Managing Director.
Mahto said 5000 new PDS dealers will be registered and they will be from women self-help groups. Presently, the state has altogether 22,000 PDS dealers, he claimed.
The Food and Civil Supply department already instructed the officials to store ten quintals of food grains to ensure that none died of starvation particularly in view of drought, Mahto said. Besides, a food bank was also set up to meet the emergency requirement.
To a query about the policies of the JSFC, he said the government was studying the PDS policies of various states including Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Chattisgarh before framing a policy of its own.
When asked to comment about report of contents of the proposed budget to be placed in the assembly already having leaked in a section of press, Mahto said the chief minister had already assured to look into it.
"The process of making new ration cards is on and we expect to allot the cards among 50 to 60 lakh people by the end of April," Mahto said after attending a departmental meeting with officials of Kolhan division comprising East and West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharswan districts here.
The minister said of the new ration cards, 35 lakh was meant for people living above poverty line while the rest for the people living below poverty line.
Stating that the basic purpose of the meeting was to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS), he said the government has proposed to provide new items from PDS counters rather than wheat and rice only.
"Besides rice and wheat, we will provide pulses (dal), salt and oil to the beneficiaries from the next fiscal and we have suggested to the government to allot Rs.760 crore for the department against last year's budget of Rs. 500 crore."
The minister said Jharkhand State Food Corporation (JSFC) has started functioning from February 1 and the Principal Secretary of the department, Rajbala Verma will be acting as its Chairman-cum-Managing Director.
Mahto said 5000 new PDS dealers will be registered and they will be from women self-help groups. Presently, the state has altogether 22,000 PDS dealers, he claimed.
The Food and Civil Supply department already instructed the officials to store ten quintals of food grains to ensure that none died of starvation particularly in view of drought, Mahto said. Besides, a food bank was also set up to meet the emergency requirement.
To a query about the policies of the JSFC, he said the government was studying the PDS policies of various states including Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Chattisgarh before framing a policy of its own.
When asked to comment about report of contents of the proposed budget to be placed in the assembly already having leaked in a section of press, Mahto said the chief minister had already assured to look into it.
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