Andhra’s ‘cash in lieu of rice’ move runs foul of Opposition
The Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to distribute “cash in lieu of rice’’ under the Public Distribution System (PDS) is snowballing into a controversy with the Opposition accusing the government of tinkering with food security of beneficiaries.
On Wednesday, the government announced that beneficiaries will have the option of opting out of the PDS system in favour of a direct cash transfer scheme that is being worked out. The scheme will be implemented as a pilot in five municipalities in the state and will be scaled up once the price of rice is fixed, said Civil Supplies Minister Karumuri Nageswara Rao.
Rao said the government came up with the scheme as several beneficiaries were found to be selling the PDS rice in the open market which then finds its way to rice-millers who sell the rice at higher prices. The minister also said many PDS beneficiaries have stopped consuming rice for health reasons.
PDS beneficiaries in the state are eligible for 5 kg rice per month at Rs 1 per kg. The Andhra government procures fine quality swarna rice that costs between Rs 23-25 a kg to be distributed under the PDS. There are 1.5 crore ration card holders in Andhra Pradesh. About 3.32 lakh metric tonnes of rice is distributed annually under PDS in the state. The state government procured 1.58 crore tonnes of paddy this season.
Opposition parties, however, accuse the state government of washing its hands of its responsibility towards the poor.
TDP leader N Lokesh Naidu said, “The poor are being deprived of subsidised rations. PDS rice is not just subsidised rice, it is food security for the poor.”
BJP State president Somu Veerraju said, “The government’s move will affect the food security of very poor families who are dependent on rice rations. We know this government intimidates beneficiaries in order to implement its proposals, and it is doing the same this time too.’’
M Suryanarayana of the AP Rythu Sangam, a farmers grouping, said that if beneficiaries are given cash in lieu of rice, they would be forced to purchase from the open market at higher prices. “We have come to know that the government will fix the price of PDS rice at Rs 12 per kg. But rice in the open market costs much more and will end up imposing a huge financial burden on the poor. Also, once this scheme is implemented, the state government may stop buying from farmers, who will then be forced to sell to rice-millers who are known to pay low prices,’’ he said.
Minister Rao, however, dismissed these fears, calling the scheme “completely voluntary”.
“It gives beneficiaries the choice to buy whatever food grains they prefer. If a beneficiary does not want rice, we will credit the amount in the bank account. This scheme was, in fact, suggested by the Centre. All the allegations from the Opposition that the state government is forcing it on beneficiaries are false. No beneficiary has been threatened with cancellation of ration cards or exclusion from other welfare schemes,’’ Rao told The Indian Express, adding that a similar scheme is already in place in Union Territories such as Chandigarh, Puducherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Refuting the apprehensions, Rao said beneficiaries can choose cash or rice and there is an option to change their choice at a later stage. “No ration card will be removed because of the implementation of the cash transfer scheme. The state government is committed to provide ration cards to every eligible beneficiary,” he said.
