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Tripura offers subsidised rice to BPL families

By Correspondent

AGARTALA, Aug 20 � Tripura Government has declared to provide rice at Rs 6.65 per kg to the listed BPL card holders, in which appeared to be a yet another step to woo �poor families�.

Around 86,000 listed BPL families will be benefitted and this will come into immediate effect.

Talking to media at the Civil Secretariat here recently, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the decision was taken after the Centre allocated 20,307 MT rice as extra quota from September 2012 to March 2013 next.

Earlier, only Central Government approved BPL card holders (40.86 per cent population) were eligible for getting rice at subsidised price. Of late, the State Government has decided to offer 35 kg rice to each BPL card holder (Central Govt approved) at a price of Rs 2 per kg.

On the outlay of additional quota, Sarkar said, �The Union Government is under pressure following the Supreme Court�s directives on the food grains stored in different godowns. It may prompt the Centre to allocate more rice for PDS�.

It may be noted that the State�s BPL population stood at 4,06,809 (67 pc) as per the survey carried out in 1997-98 financial year. However, the Centre had approved only 2, 45,000 population (40.86 pc) who are getting the benefit of 35 kg rice at Rs 2 per kg.

The Chief Minister said the Cabinet has also approved a proposal for financial assistance to the victims� families in the worst-ever road accident in Meghalaya in August.

An amount of Rs 50,000 will be provided to the next of kin of each victim while the government will bear full medical expenditure of one critically injured passenger Goutam Debnath who is now admitted in a Guwahati based hospital.

Sarkar said, the government thought that compensation could be given from the Disaster Management fund but it appears that road accident doesn�t come under this.

The Chief Minister further said, the government would provide financial benefit to the ASHA workers. Currently, they are getting case based commission or remuneration.

�The Council of Ministers has decided to give 33 per cent on the money offered by the Centre to the ASHA workers. Besides 10 per cent ASHA workers who have completed five years in service will be absorbed while the government appoints MPWs�, he added.

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