GUWAHATI: The New Year will bring 42.85 lakh new beneficiaries of Assam under food security cover as the state government is set to distribute ration cards to 10.73 lakh families next month under the National Food Security Act ( NFSA ).
Assam food, public distribution, and consumer affairs minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass on Sunday said no needy family will be left to die in hunger and the government is ready to allot more ration cards in the coming days.
The new list of beneficiaries is ready, he said, but the distribution of ration cards will start only after Magh Bihu — the festival of feast and merriment.
“From January 16, the government will distribute ration cards for over 42 lakh new beneficiaries.
They will also get Ayushman cards along with the ration cards,” Dass said of the double benefits that await those in need this New Year.
The government offers two types of ration cards. Under the Priority Households (PHH) ration cards, each member of such households get 5kg of rice per month.
Under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, families of each beneficiary get 35kg of rice per month, irrespective of the number of family members.
O n the other hand, the Ayushman BharatPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a national flagship scheme of the Centre, under which Rs 5 lakh coverage per eligible family per year is given for secondary and tertiary care as cashless treatment in the empanelled hospitals.
Most importantly, all families listed in the NFSA database in Assam are getting Ayushman cards through the convergence of (AB-PMJAY) and Ayushman Asom Mukhyamatri Jan Arogya Yojana.
Dass said after bringing the 42 lakh fresh beneficiaries under the scheme, if needy people still remain without ration cards, the state government has another five to six lakh ration cards for them. Officials said this time retired government employees and other categories of citizens with an income of less than Rs 4 lakh per annum will also get ration cards for free rice. Previously, the cap was Rs 2.5 lakh per annum
. At present, 1.9 crore beneficiaries of 55 lakh families of ration card holders in Assam have been getting benefits under the NFSA. Sources said the new ration cards will be distributed between January 16 and January 22 as per the new demarcated assembly constituencies following delimitation
