Centre urged to extend PDS benefits 40 lakh left out BPL families in State

K.H. Muniyappa appeals to Centre to not discriminate against Karnataka in extending PDS benefits to 40 lakh BPL families. State seeks ragi from Centre due to drop in production. No new BPL cards issued until 2.95 lakh pending applications verified. 10,000 migrant population in State can avail benefits under Centre's policy.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa on Monday said the Centre should not discriminate against the State while extending the benefits under the public distribution system (PDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) since nearly 40 lakh BPL families are deprived of the food grains provided by the government of India and the same was being distributed to them by the State from its own resources.

“Karnataka has a population of nearly seven crores. About four crore people were getting the PDS benefits from the Centre. Nearly 40 lakh beneficiaries don’t get the benefits. When the Centre can extend PDS benefits to 86 crore people in the country, why are the 40 lakh families in the State deprived of the same,” the Minister asked.

Speaking at the “One Nation, One Ration Card” awareness drive organised by the Department of Food and Public Distribution at the KSOU convocation hall here, Mr. Muniyappa said he had raised this issue during his recent meeting with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal.

The State had also sought ragi from the Centre as there has been demand for its PDS distribution in southern Karnataka. In the absence of rains this year in the State, the ragi production had dropped and supplies had been hit.

The Minister said he would like to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Goyal from this platform to consider the State’s request and provide benefits to the remaining 40 lakh BPL families in the State. “I hope Mysuru MP Pratap Simha will convey the message to the Centre,” Mr. Muniyappa said.

New BPL cards

The Minister clarified that no new applications seeking BPL cards will be accepted until 2.95 lakh pending applications are verified and cleared. The process of issuing cards to those who had already applied for the cards after verification has started, he added.