Explained | What is Karnataka vs. Centre row over free rice scheme? Premium

Explained | What is Karnataka vs. Centre row over Anna Bhagya scheme?

The story so far: The Centre’s refusal to supply additional quantities of rice to Karnataka for the newly elected government’s flagship Anna Bhagya scheme has escalated into a political slugfest, with the Congress accusing the Narendra Modi-led government of “sabotaging” its programme to pursue “politics of hate.” In line with one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the Congress, the scheme seeks to provide 10kg of rice per person in families holding BPL and Antyodaya cards, beyond the 5 kg allocated by the Centre to the poorest of the poor under the National Food Security Act.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has claimed that the Centre “denied” rice to Karnataka despite having adequate stock “to create problem and scuttle the scheme.”

“They have adequate rice, which is lakhs of tonnes. They are giving it to private people, they are auctioning it, but they are not giving to the states,” the CM said.

The Karnataka government approached other States and national cooperative agencies for procurement of rice but without much success. Unable to procure enough food grain in the market at a reasonable cost in time for the launch date on July 1, the State government on Wednesday decided to temporarily give cash to beneficiaries in lieu of the promised five kg of free rice. Sources told The Hindu that cash transfer under the scheme is likely to continue for around three months before the supply to the PDS can begin. The cash transfer will also bring down the cost of Anna Bhagya implementation by an estimated 5% to 10%.

Also Read | What the five Karnataka poll guarantees mean and who is eligible

The Congress secured a historic victory in the 2023 Assembly election in May on the back of a campaign centred around five big promises, one of which was the provision of free food grains for the poor. Under the Anna Bhagya scheme, the party promised to distribute 10kg of rice, free of cost, every month to each member of a family below the poverty line or a beneficiary of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

The “game-changer” scheme is one of Siddaramaiah’s pet initiatives, first unveiled in July 2013 when he became the CM to implement a revised food distribution system after the Central government implemented the National Food Security Act. The State government provided 30 kg of rice at Rs. 1/kg to nearly one crore families under the scheme. While single-member cardholders got 10kg per month, two-member families got 20kg, while those with three or more members were entitled to a maximum of 30 kg.