In less than a week of indicating that it considered supply of free rice to white card holders, the Telangana government has turned around and said on Tuesday that it was exploring the possibility of hiking the price of subsidised rice under PDS from the present Re. 1 a kg to Rs. 3 a kg.
The government’s latest thinking was disclosed by Finance Minister Etala Rajender after a four-hour meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee that is going into the new PDS of the government.
After the earlier meeting of the panel a week ago, Mr. Rajender, who is its convenor, had said free rice to below poverty line families was one of the options being studied for the new policy. But, on Tuesday he said, “The government is contemplating whether to hike the price to Rs. 3 or more”. There was, however, no change in Mr. Rajender’s stand about increasing the ceiling on monthly quota of rice on white cards from 4 kg to 5 kg per head and 20 kg to 30 kg per household. The sub-committee will decide the price as well as the quantity at its final meeting sometime after Dasara and convey the same to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who will take the call, he added. The Minister also said the panel was studying how to weed out white cards that were in the hands of people who took them not for rice but to corner government benefits.
