The Uttar Pradesh government has distributed a total of 147.77 lakh metric tons of food grains, including 80.40 lakh MT of wheat and 67.34 lakh MT of rice, to the poor people from April 2020 to May 2022, under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
According to a release of the Food and Civil Supplies Department issued here on Sunday evening, the government has successfully implemented Phases three, four and five of the scheme in 2021-2022, from May 2021 to June 2021, July 2021 to November 2021, and from December 2021 to March 2022, respectively.
The government distributed 14.15 lakh metric tons of food grains, including 5.66 lakh MT of rice and 8.49 lakh MT of wheat to the beneficiaries of PMGKAY covered by National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the months of May and June last year.
Similarly, in PMGKAY-4 (July 2021 to November 2021), a total of 35. 21 lakh metric tons of allotted food grains, including 8.45 lakh MT of rice and 26.75 of wheat was distributed to the beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the Yogi government distributed altogether 28.13 lakh MT of the allocated foodgrains in PMGKAY-5, including 11.26 lakh MT of rice and 16.87 lakh MT of wheat, with allocation of an additional five kilograms of food grains per individual.
The Yogi government has also made an additional allocation of 5 kg to the beneficiaries for PMGKAY-6 (April 2022 to September 2022) and plans to distribute 44.61 lakh MT of food grains, including 40.15 lakh MT of rice and 4.46 lakh MT of wheat during the period.
Under the Prime Minister's Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, all Antyodaya card and MGNREGA job card holders, labourers registered with the Labour Department and daily wage workers registered with the Municipal Department, who are covered under the Eligible Household Scheme, get 5 kilograms of food grains per unit in accordance with the provisions of the National Food Security Act.
It may be mentioned here that distributing free ration to the poor and destitute people has been one of the top priorities of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state of UP to ensure that not a single person remains hungry during his tenure.
The Yogi government ran a campaign to prepare ration cards for the needy and deserving on a war footing during the COVID-19 pandemic so that ration reached every deserving person in the state. The department is ensuring 100 per cent collection of food grains meant for PMGKAY from the Food Corporation of India and delivery to reasonable vendors from block godowns as per the roaster for free of cost distribution to the beneficiaries.