The Gujarat government on Sunday said it will provide food grains to additional 10 lakh families in the state at concessional rates under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), which will benefit around 50 lakh individuals. These 10 lakh families will be able to avail all the benefits provided to the beneficiaries under the NFSA, the state government said in a release.
At present, 3.5 crore people are getting food grains under the NFSA in the state, it said. “All divyangs (differently-abled), widows, beneficiaries of Vridh (elderly) Pension Assistance Scheme will also get the benefit of this food distribution scheme. BPL families not covered under the NFSA will also get the benefit under the Food Security Act,” it said.
The decision taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will ensure distribution of food grains at concessional rates to auto and mini tempo drivers living in cities and villages as well as to registered construction workers and other daily wagers, the release said. The chief minister has instructed authorities concerned to ensure that the process of this scheme is completed quickly and the benefit of food distribution reaches the beneficiaries immediately.
During the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state government had distributed free “food baskets” under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to various categories of card holders. As per information provided by the government, there are 23.94 lakh BPL card holding families in Gujarat who are covered under the NFSA.
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