K’taka mulling dividing BPL cards into 2 categories: Minister

Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa on Wednesday said that the state government is contemplating dividing Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards into two groups - one exclusively to allow beneficiaries to claim medical and other government benefits sans foodgrains while the other group can avail both ration and medical benefits.

Apparently, this has been done in Andhra Pradesh.

Muniyappa told reporters that already two groups exist within the BPL category, one does not claim food grains but uses the card to claim other benefits, like medical, reservation and income certificates, while another section claims both food grains and other benefits.

“After discussing with the chief minister (Siddaramaiah), we are likely to launch a door-to-door survey to identify both groups to know the exact numbers. This will not be the time-bound survey, but it will happen in due course of time,” he said.

The minister said that the state had received more than 3.90 lakh BPL card applications since 2017 and a pilot experiment of dividing the BPL cards into two groups will commence from this lot itself.

Muniyappa said that the state government would soon hold detailed consultations with various farmer groups in the state to encourage farmers to grow paddy varieties that can be purchased under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

“Our state does not grow many of these varieties. It will save us a lot of money in terms of transportation cost and at the same time it will help local farmers too,” he said.

Denying the media reports about PDS rice being adulterated with plastic, the minister said that the state was supplying fortified rice through Integrated Child Development Services and mid-day meal scheme and ration shops to address high levels of malnutrition, anaemia and micronutrient deficiency among women and children.

He added that fortification of rice is a cost-effective and complementary strategy to increase vitamin and mineral content in diets and a step towards nutritional security.

Muniyappa said that the state government will soon be floating tenders to procure rice and ragi to supply in the state.

“We plan to supply 2 kgs of ragi for which we need 6 lakh tonnes to supply in 14 districts in the state under the PDS scheme,” the minister added.