Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today called upon five flood-hit states, including Bihar, to supply PDS rice and wheat to affected people free of cost for at least six months.
Rice and wheat are supplied at a highly subsidised Rs 2-3 per kg via the public distribution system (PDS).
"Bihar and other flood-hit states should supply PDS rice and wheat to the flood-affected people free of cost for six months," Paswan told reporters here.
The Centre provides PDS grains to the states at subsidised rates and the states should further subsidise to give food relief to people affected by the floods, he suggested.
In the case of Bihar, the minister said, the Centre had recently allocated additional 20,000 tonnes of foodgrains as part of flood relief and urged the state government to supply timely relief to the needy.
Flood situation remains grim in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh - because of heavy rainfall.
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