The Hindu Business Line : Will the Rs 2 rice scheme do enough for the poor?

Hyderabad, April 18 When the Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh decided to renew the 25-year-old ‘Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme’ last week, it was music to the ears of crores of poor in the State as they will get 20 kg for just Rs 40 when the market rate is pegged at Rs 15 a kg.

The scheme is expected to benefit 1.85 crore families, or 85 per cent of the State’s population.

It would cost the exchequer Rs 2,000 crore to procure and distribute 3.48 lakh tonnes annually.

Host of questions

But the decision raises a host of questions. Will the Rs 2 scheme do enough for the poor? What about the other necessary food supplements in a typical meal?

Are all the poor really being covered under the ‘white-card’ net to become eligible for the scheme?

Is the Government admitting that 85 per cent of the population is poor?

“Consider this. Estimates put the poverty figures at 21 per cent. Even if we stretch this to 50 per cent, the number should have been a little over four crore.

“But how come 85 per cent of the people have white cards,” Mr Jayaprakash Narayan, President of Lok Satta Party and former bureaucrat, told Business Line.

No denying that people need succor in the short-term.

“When NTR announced the scheme, the market price of rice was Rs 3.50. But it is hovering around Rs 15 now. This is cheap populism at the cost of economy,” he said. With inflation rising significantly, prices of essential commodities witnessed steep increase in the last few months. While tur dal is ruling at Rs 48, moong dal is priced at Rs 45 and urad at Rs 50 a kg. The prices of vegetables are also climbing up in recent weeks.

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