<p class="bodytext">The allegation by BJP MLC C T Ravi that rice meant for Anna Bhagya is being smuggled not only across state borders but even to Dubai and Singapore has reopened a wound Karnataka has lived with for decades. Lending weight to his charge, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa has confirmed that between April and November, over 29,600 quintals of rice, meant to go through the Public Distribution System (PDS), were seized and 570 people arrested. When a minister acknowledges such rot, it signals a system slipping beyond government control. Leakages have long plagued Karnataka’s PDS. Lokayukta reports from 2011, and successive audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have documented the diversion of subsidised grain. Fair price shops have been caught replacing high-quality PDS rice with inferior stock, while transport contractors have siphoned off consignments before they reach ration outlets. Official complicity has nurtured this parallel economy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For poor households dependent on Anna Bhagya, such pilferage directly undermines food security. In some cases, manipulation at fair price shops results in erratic supply, forcing beneficiaries to make repeated trips. These disruptions strike hardest at the elderly, households headed by women, and daily-wage earners. Adding to the evolving landscape of welfare is the state government’s recent decision to reduce the quantity of rice and introduce Indira Kits — a package containing other essential food items. While the move aims to diversify nutritional support, it also makes the integrity of the remaining rice supply even more critical. Any diversion now has a proportionally larger impact on families relying on a smaller quota.</p>.Anna Bhagya rice meant for Karnataka's BPL families illegally being exported to Dubai, Singapore: BJP.<p class="bodytext">Ironically, the very rice procured at public cost to feed the poor is allegedly repackaged and sold for exorbitant profits. A scheme conceived as a lifeline has turned into a lucrative black-market. The State has deployed technology — Aadhaar linkage, biometric authentication, GPS-enabled trucks, and warehouse surveillance — but the persistence of pilferage shows that these measures have not cured systemic decay. The government could consider Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) as a complementary or alternative approach, particularly given its success when briefly implemented during rice procurement shortages. That experiment helped eliminate ghost ration cards, curb diversion, and yield fiscal savings while ensuring beneficiaries were empowered to buy grain of their choice. Anna Bhagya was designed to uphold the dignity of the poorest, not enrich smugglers. It is central to the government’s vision of a 'hunger-free Karnataka', but unless the State firmly dismantles the entrenched networks hollowing out this welfare scheme, the initiative will continue to be exploited for profit at the cost of those it was meant to serve.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The allegation by BJP MLC C T Ravi that rice meant for Anna Bhagya is being smuggled not only across state borders but even to Dubai and Singapore has reopened a wound Karnataka has lived with for decades. Lending weight to his charge, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa has confirmed that between April and November, over 29,600 quintals of rice, meant to go through the Public Distribution System (PDS), were seized and 570 people arrested. When a minister acknowledges such rot, it signals a system slipping beyond government control. Leakages have long plagued Karnataka’s PDS. Lokayukta reports from 2011, and successive audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have documented the diversion of subsidised grain. Fair price shops have been caught replacing high-quality PDS rice with inferior stock, while transport contractors have siphoned off consignments before they reach ration outlets. Official complicity has nurtured this parallel economy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For poor households dependent on Anna Bhagya, such pilferage directly undermines food security. In some cases, manipulation at fair price shops results in erratic supply, forcing beneficiaries to make repeated trips. These disruptions strike hardest at the elderly, households headed by women, and daily-wage earners. Adding to the evolving landscape of welfare is the state government’s recent decision to reduce the quantity of rice and introduce Indira Kits — a package containing other essential food items. While the move aims to diversify nutritional support, it also makes the integrity of the remaining rice supply even more critical. Any diversion now has a proportionally larger impact on families relying on a smaller quota.</p>.Anna Bhagya rice meant for Karnataka's BPL families illegally being exported to Dubai, Singapore: BJP.<p class="bodytext">Ironically, the very rice procured at public cost to feed the poor is allegedly repackaged and sold for exorbitant profits. A scheme conceived as a lifeline has turned into a lucrative black-market. The State has deployed technology — Aadhaar linkage, biometric authentication, GPS-enabled trucks, and warehouse surveillance — but the persistence of pilferage shows that these measures have not cured systemic decay. The government could consider Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) as a complementary or alternative approach, particularly given its success when briefly implemented during rice procurement shortages. That experiment helped eliminate ghost ration cards, curb diversion, and yield fiscal savings while ensuring beneficiaries were empowered to buy grain of their choice. Anna Bhagya was designed to uphold the dignity of the poorest, not enrich smugglers. It is central to the government’s vision of a 'hunger-free Karnataka', but unless the State firmly dismantles the entrenched networks hollowing out this welfare scheme, the initiative will continue to be exploited for profit at the cost of those it was meant to serve.</p>
