STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: With the beginning of the Durga Puja today, the state government announced that it would distribute ration cards to over forty lakh beneficiaries under the NFSA (National Food Security Act) 2013 in December.
At present, Assam has 63,95,860 ration cards: 6,74,116 AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) cards and 57,21,744 PHH (Priority Household) cards. The total beneficiaries are 2,24,47,887–22,04,901 under AAY and 2,02,42,986 under PHH.
Speaking to The Sentinel, Food, Public Distribution, and Consumers Affairs Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass said, “The State Government took a decision this year that it would include 40 lakh more beneficiaries under NFSA. The department collected applications from the would-be beneficiaries through district-level officials. With a view to covering more people as beneficiaries, we have increased the annual income cap of the beneficiaries from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. This new income limit makes all families with Rs 4 lakh or less annual income eligible for benefits under the NFSA. We expect to add 40.06 lakh new beneficiaries to the list. The data of 32 lakh new beneficiaries has already entered the Central Government’s portal. The district-level officials are entering the data of the remaining eight lakh beneficiaries.”
Dass further said, “The process for writing the names of the eligible beneficiaries is going on. Writing the names of over 40 lakh beneficiaries is a herculean task. It will take time. We are contemplating distributing the ration cards at the end of December. Ration cards are all the more crucial now as beneficiaries get cashless treatment facilities in government hospitals and a few other empaneled hospitals up to Rs 5 lakh”.
Ration card holders in Assam get rice free of charge at the rate of five kg per beneficiary.
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