Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide food grains and edible oil at subsidized rate for the drought-hit people for the next six months as the state was not in a position to incur the expense. In a letter to the PM, the content of which was released on Wednesday, the
CM said that in view of the financial burden involved in the distribution of food grains, the state is not in a position to bear the extra cost. “The state is however ready to bear the transportation cost and would also pay the margin money,” Yadav said. The CM has contended that the UP government has sent a detailed report to the Centre about district-wise requirement. “In all drought -hit regions, the APl and BPl card holders should be treated equally and be given subsidised food,” Yadav said
The UP government has claimed that around 11 crore people have been directly affected by drought. Of this, around 28 lakh families belong to Antodaya and entitled to 35 kg food grains. This translates into 32,000 meteric tonnes of wheat and 68,000 meteric tonnes of rice.
Uttar Pradesh is home to 21 crore people and has faced drought for the last two years in a row forcing the state government to declare 50 of the 75 districts as drought-hit. The list includes all the seven districts of Bundelkhand region.
“To ensure that drought-hit people got enough Protein, the state government has declared free distribution of 2 kgs of Arhar dal and 1 kg of edible oil among the Antodaya families. Thus, in the drought affected region, the state needs 29,000 meteric tonnes of rice, 38,000 tonnes of arhanr dal and 1.89 crore litre of edible oil,” Yadav said.