Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 21: Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and Information Choudhary Zulfkar Ali today said that the State Government is providing subsidized sugar to 74.13 lakh souls even as the Centre has discontinued the subsidy support in the 2017-18 Budget.
“The State Government is procuring the sugar through e-tendering mode at the rate of Rs. 47 per kg. Now, the State Government has revised the rate for the consumers to Rs. 25 per kg but the consumers will continue to get the subsidy of Rs. 22 per kg. The annual burden on the State exchequer will be Rs. 211 crore”, the Minister said while chairing a meeting of senior officers of the department here today.
He said Government of India was providing Rs. 18.50 as subsidy per kg on the sugar throughout the country, which it discontinued in the annual budget for 2017-18, but the J&K Government continued the subsidy in the interest of the people, especially low income group.
“So far the consumers were paying Rs 13.50 per kg for sugar and the rest of the amount was borne by the State Government. The State Government in the best interest of the consumers of the State has decided to continue supply of subsidized sugar in the State to BPL, AAY, PHH category which constitute 74.13 lakh population of the State as per the 2011 census, against the total population of 125.42 lakh. This reflects 66 per cent of the population shall continue to get the subsidized sugar”, the Minister informed.
Meanwhile, it was informed that sugar is not a commodity of the Public Distribution System under National Food Security Act (NFSA). But it is being distributed to families falling under AAY and BPL category, which include households having meager monthly income, houseless and landless, widows, orphans, destitute, militancy and violence affected families – the low income group, leprosy patients, domestic housemaids, weaker sections, nomadic families, old age pension holders, specially-abled persons, inhabitants having kuchha houses, displaced families, labourers and workers, slum dwellers and other deserving families identified by the competent authority.
It was further informed that FCS&CA Department used to float the tender for six months in order to save the State exchequer from the extra burden as the sugar market is fluctuating and the rate fixed for longer duration may not be financially feasible for the State.
About the present status, it was informed that there is regular sugar supply from April 2017 onwards and the department has also released the sugar quota of 1 kg per family on the festival of Eid-ul-fitr.
However, it was said that the sugar was not supplied from January to March for want of procurement, which involves national level tendering and has to be approved after passing various stages regarding its quality and quantity which has to be done by reputed agencies.
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