Women of BPL households will start getting money instead of 5 kg rice from July 1

BENGALURU: Women of below poverty line (BPL) families will start getting money in the bank accounts towards the additional 5 kg rice promised under the Anna Bhagya scheme even before the Gruha Lakshmi scheme is rolled out in the state.

From July 1, the Congress government in the state will start crediting Rs 170 per head for BPL and Antyodaya card holders through direct benefit transfer (DBT) to bank accounts which are already seeded with the Aadhaar numbers and ration cards. The remaining six lakh beneficiaries will start getting the money as soon as they link their bank accounts with the Aadhaar numbers.

The government hopes that by the first or second week of July, it will be able to transfer funds to the beneficiaries in lieu of the 5 kg additional rice. There are 1.28 crore BPL card holders in the state and 1.22 crore accounts are already seeded with the Aadhaar number while about six lakh accounts are still not linked. The government has appealed to the beneficiaries to seed the Aadhaar number with their bank accounts at the earliest.

Food and Civil Supplies Commissioner Jnanendra Kumar explained that if the head of a BPL household does not have a bank account, details of any other family member who has a bank account can be provided. Those who have not linked their bank accounts will not be eligible for the fund transfer. He said that the woman has been mentioned as head of the family in 92 per cent of the BPL ration cards as per central norms and added that the money will be deposited into their accounts.

Beneficiaries should possess BPL cards mentioning the head of the family. The woman head of family should have a bank account seeded with Aadhaar and in case, there is no head of family, the account number of any other member can be given. No separate application is necessary to receive the money under the Anna Bhagya scheme, Jnanendra Kumar explained.