SHILLONG: Opposition leader Mukul Sangma has asked the state government to immediately implement the decision of the Centre to provide 5kg rice to each poor per month for the next three months and one kg of pulses for each household for free, which will be over and above the 5kgs they get under NFSA (National Food Security Act).
Sangma reminded the chief secretary about the Centre’s decision in connection with the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed to arrest the transmission chain of COVID-19.
He also said that the spike in prices of essential commodities, particularly rice, was a matter of serious concern as poor families have little money in hand while, at the same time, it is difficult to quantify such families in distress across the state.
He said that the MLAs’ sincere attempt to distribute rice out of the limited earmarked amount from SRWP (Special Rural Works Programme) is also thwarted by non-availability of rice with wholesale dealers/stockists besides high prices.
He also said that the demand-supply gap in rice can be addressed to a reasonable extent if milling of rice in Assam — in rice mills which were shut down — is allowed to resume with appropriate precautionary measures. He asked the chief secretary to take up the matter with his Assam counterpart in this regard.
