Direct bank transfers under the Karnataka’s government’s Anna Bhagya scheme are set to begin on Monday evening, the state’s Food and Civil Supplies minister K H Muniyappa said on Saturday.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to launch the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on Monday evening, Muniyappa told news agency PTI. The Anna Bhagya scheme is one of the five main election guarantees made by the Congress party before its massive win in the May 10 assembly election in the southern state. The scheme pledges to provides additional 5 kg of free rice to every member of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) household.
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The Siddaramaiah-led leadership in Karnataka decided last week to give cash to the beneficiaries of the scheme instead of rice after facing a shortage in supply. The Congress government is facing hiccups in the implementation of multiple schemes that were a part of their poll manifesto.
Cash at the rate of ₹34 per kilo will be credited to the beneficiaries’ accounts. Muniyappa assured that the money would be transferred into the beneficiaries’ account in 15 days.
“On July 10 at 5 pm, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will start the drive. Money for the Anna Bhagya scheme would be directly deposited into the accounts of beneficiaries. In 15 days, every beneficiary will get the money,” Muniyappa told the agency.
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He also added that there are 1.29 crore BPL ration card holding families in the state, which make up for 4.41 crore beneficiaries. The state tried to acquire sufficient amounts of rice but the Centre did not give it, the minister further stated.
