Srinagar; July 08: In order to strengthen food security for marginal sections of society, rolled out ‘Prime Minister’s Food Supplementation for Priority Households Scheme’ for UT today. It would ensure accessibility, affordability & availability of adequate quantity of food to Priority Households.
Presently, under Antyodaya Anna Yojana, 35 kg food grains per household is provided to 2.29 lakh households in UT, benefitting the poorest of the poor. Also, 5 kg food grains per person to Priority Households (PHH) beneficiaries are provided free of cost.
Currently, in PHH Category, there are 14.32 Lakh Ration Card holders with around 57.24 lakh beneficiaries in J&K. New scheme will augment the monthly food availability to PHH category on a subsidized rate while ensuring it does not exceed 35 kg per household.
Augmentation was discontinued last year after Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) run by GoI was discontinued. It has now been revived at revised price. In order to remove financial burden of poor families & ensuring access to food & nutritional security, new scheme has been launched.
Under new scheme, a PHH with one beneficiary will get an additional allocation of 5 kgs and a PHH with beneficiaries ranging from 2-5 will get an additional 10 kgs, each month while maintaining maximum allocation per household.
For the additional allocation, J&K Govt will procure the rice from GoI at Rs.34 per kg and it will be provided to the beneficiaries at Rs.25 per kg, thus ensuring subsidy of Rs.9 per kg. The new scheme will incur a financial implication of over Rs. 180 Crore a year.“`
