Bengal yet to get Rs 14,000 crore from Centre for supply of rice through PDS: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the state is yet to get Rs 14,000 crore from the Centre for supply of rice through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

"For giving rice through PDS we get 60 per cent of the amount as subsidy from Centre which is yet to reach us", the CM said at the assembly.

"Still the state continues to bear the expense through its coffer so that the poor are not deprived," she claimed.

Banerjee said the Khadya Sathi scheme of the state also covers people who are deserving but strictly don't belong to the criteria set up by the Centre.

The Khadya Sathi Scheme is a food security programme in West Bengal that aims to provide rice and wheat at a subsidised rate to the state's population.

About the price of potato, she said, "We are second in potato production but some people are exporting the potato grown here outside creating a scarcity in the market which will not be allowed."

"In the past most of the potatoes used to be exported but during our tenure we have stopped that. Similarly, we have ensured 75 per cent of the onions grown here must be consumed within the state," she said.