Centre foots Haryana ration bill to help it feed poor in lockdown

KARNAL: With the Centre’s help, the Haryana government has been able to feed the poor by providing free ration to over 29 lakh families during the lockdown.

The state has lifted 0.94 lakh MT food grains till May 7 and the total expenditure of ₹530 crore, accrued during the free distribution of ration, is being borne by the Centre.

In April, the BPL and Antyodaya Anna Yojana families daily consumed around 33,607 quintals of wheat, 5,109 quintal fortified atta, 900 quintal channa dal, 69,034 litres of mustard oil, 375 quintal each of sugar and salt during the lockdown.

As per the data accessed by HT, out of per-month expenditure of ₹353.91 crore accrued in April, the Centre has paid ₹277 crore, while the state will have to bear the remaining ₹76.82 crore. The figures revealed that if the lockdown continues for the three months or by July 1, the total expenditure on the allocation of free ration in the state will be around ₹1061.73 crore and the Centre will pay ₹831.27 crore, whereas the state would foot the remaining ₹230.46 crore.

Karnal food and supplies controller Anil Kumar tol HT, “Due to the lockdown, additional benefit of wheat has been added in the public distribution.”