Govt yet to pay Anna Bhagya dues for 3 months as it readies to provide 10 kg rice to beneficiaries

BENGALURU: The state government is set to distribute 10 kg of Anna Bhagya rice to beneficiaries from this month, including for February, instead of the cash transfer in lieu of the 5 kg of extra rice. However, the government still owes money to PDS consumers for November, December and January, which runs up to approximately Rs 1,500 crore.

The government was supposed to transfer the funds to the beneficiaries’ accounts, but it has been delayed. The Food and Civil Supplies Department had promised to release the pending amount soon, but it has been 20 days since the announcement, and the beneficiaries are still waiting the cash transfers.

The government has to deposit more than Rs 680 crore in the accounts of the beneficiaries every month. For the three-month period, it has to transfer about Rs 1,500 crore to the accounts of the beneficiaries.

The government has decided to distribute 10 kg of rice for February and March, instead of the usual 5 kg with cash in lieu of the remaining 5 kg. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the recent budget. However, the beneficiaries are still awaiting the pending cash transfers for the previous months.