Chhattisgarh Cabinet expands scope, ambit of welfare schemes

Ministers Ravindra Choubey and Mohammad Akbar said even though short term loans have been waived, several account holders have not been able to avail them owing to non-performing bank accounts. Therefore, the state government has decided to pay fifty percent of this amount, which amounts of half of the 1,175 crore outstanding amounts due. This will help farmers with these accounts avail of loans in the future, they said.

The Cabinet also decided to extend the purview of rations cards from the existing 58 lakh families to 65 lakh families “from the point of view of food security”. Now, those who come under the upper income bracket of the scheme will be given rice at Rs 10 per kilo, while existing beneficaries and those Below Poverty Line (BPL) will continue to get it at Re 1 per kilo. Under the new distribution system, an individual ration card holder will be eligible to get 10 kg, a family of two can get 20 kg, and those families with 3-5 people can get 35 kg. If there are more than 5 people in the family under the ration card, then they will be given 7 kg of extra rice per extra member in the family, a state government release said.