by: Navjeevan Express

68 lakh BPL families in Gujarat to get free food grains from Sunday

NE NEWS SERVICE

GANDHINAGAR, MAY 15

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has ordered the free distribution of additional food grains to around 68.80 BPL families for the second consecutive month. The food grain distribution will be operational from May 17 to 27 in all parts of Gujarat except Ahmedabad keeping in mind the necessary safety protocols, a senior official said.

Secretary in the CMO Ashwani Kumar said, “66 lakh NFSA card holding families and 3.8 lakh non-NFSA (AAY and PHH) families i.e a total of 3 crore 36 lakh cardholders will avail free of cost wheat, rice, pulses, sugar and salt for May. In addition to that, these families will also receive 3.5 kg wheat,1.5 kg rice per person under Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana.”

“The food grain distribution will be operational from  May 17 to May 27 in all parts of Gujarat except Ahmedabad keeping in mind the necessary safety protocols. The cardholders have been divided based on the last digit of their ration cards. Cardholders with the last digit as 1 will avail the grains on May 17,  2 on May 18, 3 on May 19, 4 on May 20, 5 on May 21, 6 on May 22, 7 on  May 23, 8 on May 24, 9 on May 25, and 0 on May 26, respectively,” Kumar added.

The government has also decided to continue the distribution on May 27 for all those beneficiaries who are unable to avail the grains as per the aforesaid slots due to unavoidable circumstances.

The NFSA card holding families and Antyodaya Families will avail of a total of 24 lakh quintals of wheat, 10 lakh quintals of rice, 90 thousand quintals of sugar, 77 thousand quintals of salt and 68 thousand quintals of grams with the co-operation of the state and the central government. The state government has completed the free food grain distribution for 61 lakh APL-1 cardholders across Gujarat. The dates for  Ahmedabad were not announced at that time due to the COVID-19 situation. However, free food grain distribution for APL-1 cardholders in Ahmedabad will be held from May 18 to  May 23, 2020. The cardholders will avail 10 kg wheat, 3 kg rice, 1 kg sugar, and 1 kg grams per family keeping in mind the necessary safety protocols. The cardholders in Ahmedabad will also be divided on the basis o the last digit of their ration card. i.e Cardholders with the last digit as 1 and 2 will avail the grains on May 18, 3, and 4 on May 19, 5, and 6 on May 20,  7, and 8 on  May 21, 9, and 0 on  May 22, respectively. Those unable to avail the grains on the designated dates can avail on May 23, Kumar said.

43.60 lakh quintals of food grains worth  Rs 1,039 crores have been distributed to such families during April 2020.

Aatmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojana forms will be distributed from May 21

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had on Thursday announced “Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojana” wherein the urban and district cooperative banks and credit societies in the state will provide Rs 5,000 crore as loans to small entrepreneurs and businessmen here at an interest rate of two percent.

Secretary at the CMO Ashwani Kumar said, “The cost-free application forms will be available to eligible people from May 21. They can be availed from 9,000 designated places which include 1,000 branches of co-operative banks,1,400 Urban Co-operative Banks, and 7,000 Credit Co-operative Societies. The application forms will have to be submitted by August 31, 2020.”

Around 10 lakh people eligible under the scheme will avail a loan of up to Rs. 1 lakh with a nominal interest rate of 2%. The loans can be availed without producing any form of guarantee. However, they must be repaid within 3 years. The state government will provide relaxation for paying EMIs for the first 6 months. These measures will benefit small business owners and people like barber, small grocery shop owners, street vendors, rickshaw drivers, etc. The state government has earmarked a sum of Rs. 5,000 crores under the same.

5.36 lakh migrants return home through 349 Shramik trains

The state government has arranged 390 labour trains for the safe return of 5 lakh 36 thousand migrant workers till the evening of May 15, Secretary at the CMO Ashwani Kumar said.

Kumar said, “The state government has operated 349 labour trains to ensure the safe return of 4 lakh 70 thousand migrant workers as of May 14 midnight. 47 trains will be operated on Friday to send 64,000 workers to U.P, Bihar, Orissa, M.P, Chattisgarh and other states. Out of this, 27 will be for UP, 4 for Bihar, 2 for Orissa and 1 each for Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, 1 train each for other states. 16 trains will be operated from Surat, 15 from Ahmedabad, 3 from Rajkot, 2 from Kutch and 1 train each from other districts.”