| On the eve of the coalition (Congress-Janata Dal-Secular) government's 100 days in office, chief minister N Dharam Singh launched an ambitious programme to provide 20 kg of rice and 5 kg of wheat every month. |
| It will be provided at a subsidised price of Rs 3 per kg to all families living below poverty line (BPL) in the state. The state has set aside Rs 650 crore for the programme in the budget. |
| This is one of the first promises of the coalition government in the Common Minimum Programme. The programme will benefit 75 lakh poor families in the state who are yellow card holders. |
| This programme envisages 97,80,288 metric tonnes of rice and 24,45,072 metric tonnes of wheat. The programme will be implemented from the current month itself. The scheme is extended to cover families in urban areas living in slums as well. |
| Launching the programme, Singh said that the coalition government was committed to ensuring food to the poor. The chief minister also reiterated the election manifesto of the coalition partners and he said that the state had honoured its commitment. |
| In addition to this, under the Centrally-sponsored Annapoorna scheme, the state government will provide 10 kg of rice free of cost to destitutes who are 65 years and above and those who do not get old age pension either from the Centre or the state government. The Centre has asked the state government to identify 68,040 beneficiaries under the scheme. |
| The gram panchayats will also be required to identify, prepare and display the lists of persons eligible to receive benefits under the Annapoorna scheme. |
| According to revenue minister M P Prakash, officials had been asked to ensure that the programme is implemented efficiently, especially keeping in mind the recent rice scam.
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| 100 days in office |
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Karnataka to provide 20 kg rice, 5 kg wheat at Rs 3 per kg to poor
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First Published: Sep 06 2004 | 12:00 AM IST
