Chandigarh, May 7 – Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal, said that in view of the nationwide lockdown arisen due to Corona virus the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana', which was started by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to provide ration to needy poor people in this hour of crisis has proved to be effective for the people. The Chief Minister has expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for the noble thought.

Giving this information here today, an official spokesperson said that under the scheme, the beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), below poverty line (BPL) and other priority families (OPH), are given 5-kg of wheat and 1-kg of pulses per member per month.

The spokesperson said that on the initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal, in the time of crisis, ration for three months of April, May, and June is being distributed free of cost to the needy. In the month of April, 98 percent wheat and 93 percent pulses were distributed. Thus, under this scheme, 1.20 crores members of 27 lakh families of the above three categories were provided 58,062 metric tonnes of wheat and 2,512 metric tonnes of pulses. Hence, the state government provided benefits to the tune of Rs. 154 crores to the needy people.

Similarly, other essential commodities like wheat or fortified flour, two litres of mustard oil, one kilogram of sugar and one kilogram of salt were also provided by the state government, the spokesperson said. He informed that 44456 MT of wheat, 16839 MT of fortified flour, 1060 MT of sugar, 2136000 litres of mustard oil and 1065 MT of salt were distributed among the beneficiaries in the month of April.

The spokesperson said that under the National Food Security Act, the central government allocated 35-kg of wheat per family to AAY families and for the BPL and OPH families 5-kg wheat per person has been given at a much cheaper rate of Rs 2 per kg. He further added that the state government has decided to bear the cost of the ration given in the month of April.

The spokesperson said that complete transparency is being ensured in the distribution of ration and special care is being taken to ensure that only eligible families get its benefit, yet if any beneficiary has any complaint, then he can register the complaint at the toll-free number 1800-180-2087 and 1967 (BSNL). The concerned District Food and Supplies Controller can also be contacted in this regard.