APL families show little interest in food subsidy

Less than 1 p.c. register at ration shops: data

June 22, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:44 am IST - BENGALURU:

While the Opposition and ruling MLAs had forced the State government to offer subsidised food through public distribution system to above poverty line (APL) families, these beneficiaries seem to have shown little interest in availing themselves of the subsidy.

The State government had included subsidised food items for APL families from June 1, but data from the Department of Food and Civil Supplies shows that less than one per cent (0.89 %) of the total 33 lakh APL ration cardholders have registered at ration shops to get rice and wheat at subsidised prices.

33.78 lakh APL cardholders

There are 33.78 lakh APL cardholders and only 30,268 have registered at around 20,000 designated ration shops by paying a registration fee of Rs. 10. After registration, the APL families get enrolled in the department website from where the monthly quota is released.

Under the scheme, APL families can avail themselves of rice and wheat at Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 a kg, respectively. Each family is eligible to get a monthly quota of 10 kg each of rice and wheat. The department had opened registration counters across the State to enable the families to apply for cards.

However, APL cardholders have not been showing interest and prefer purchasing food from the open market at much higher prices, officials pointed out.

For such families, ration cards seem to be restricted only for address proof and to use as one of the government documents to get services such as claiming insurance under the State government’s Rajiv Arogya Bhagya scheme, officials added.

In some towns and cities, APL ration cards have been lying in the department offices as families have not even approached the officials to collect them.

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