Anna Bhagya Scheme rollout hangs in balance as Karnataka scrambles for rice

After rolling out two of the much-touted five pre-poll “guarantees” with a bang, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has hit a hurdle with what was expected to be the third — Anna Bhagya. The scheme was supposed to be launched on July 1, but that looks nearly impossible now, with the state running short of enough rice to implement it.

Though the Karnataka government is putting up a brave face, with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other ministers hoping that the government will procure enough rice on time, the rollout is unlikely to happen as scheduled. It will be delayed by two weeks at least, said sources, adding that a clear picture would be available by Thursday. Apparently, the government is trying hard to roll out the scheme by July second week or even August 1.

Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is reportedly part of Siddaramaiah’s inner circle, has assured the people that though the rollout may be delayed, the government will eventually make it happen.

CM, ministers in Delhi

On his first visit to the national capital after being sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister on May 20, Siddaramaiah paid a courtesy visit to President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

Also read: Govt wants your suggestions for Bengaluru’s development. Just log in at this portal and do so

Later in the day, the Chief Minister called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking his help in releasing rice by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as per earlier norms. What exactly transpired at the meeting is unclear yet, but it’s learnt that Siddaramaiah has managed to convince Amit Shah to arrange a session with Piyush Goyal, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

According to sources, Siddaramaiah tried to convince Shah that the Central policy is a hindrance in providing free food to the poor. “The recent policy of the Centre is against the Food Security Act. It directly affects the two-time meals a day for the poor. The Centre miust change the policy,” the CM is learnt to have told Shah.

According to CMO sources, Amit Shah assured Siddaramaiah that he would discuss the issue with Piyush Goyal on Thursday.

Earlier,  Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister V Muniyappa was scheduled to meet Goyal, but the latter was reportedly out of station.

Apart from KH Muniyappa, Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, and Environment Minister Eshwara Khandre are also camping in Delhi.

The Congress, which has been holding protests across Karnataka over the rice issue, reportedly plans to take the fight to Delhi if the issue is unresolved.

The rice math

Karnataka reportedly requires 4.45 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of rice to implement the Anna Bhagya scheme, about half of which the state can get under the National Food Security Act from the Centre. But it needs to procure another 2.28 lakh MT of rice to distribute 10 kg of the grain to each member of a BPL family every month, up from 5 kg.

Also read: Piyush Goyal: Centre denying rice under OMSS to maintain stocks, curb price surge

However, the Centre suddenly threw a spanner in the works of the ambitious scheme last week by prohibiting the FCI from selling any additional rice to the states under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic). This came merely a day after the FCI agreed to sell the required rice to Karnataka.

Since then, Siddaramaiah has been in talks with several rice-surplus states, of which Chhattisgarh and Punjab have agreed to help the state, but the rates have posed another hurdle. Punjab has apparently quoted more than Rs 34 per kg, which will be difficult for the state to bear, as it has to pay for transportation, too. State Additional Chief Secretary Rajaneesh Goel met Punjab officials on Wednesday to negotiate the price but discussions are still on.

Chhattisgarh, on the other hand, has reportedly agreed to supply 1 lakh metric tonne of rice to Karnataka for a month, while the Andhra Pradesh government has agreed to provide rice at a rate of Rs 42 per kg, excluding transport cost. The Telangana government has said only paddy is available.

Also read: Anna Bhagya Scheme: After Chhattisgarh, Punjab offers to provide rice to Karnataka

BJP’s dilemma

On the other hand, the state BJP, while piling pressure on the government to implement its five pre-poll guarantees, is also worried that the Congress would successfully pin the blame on the BJP-led Centre for not letting the state buy the required rice from the FCI at subsidized rates. A GST compensation of Rs 11,000 crore to the state is also pending with the Centre, and the Congress looks set make it and the rice fiasco sound electoral issues for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress made five pre-poll guarantees to Karnataka if it came to power. Of these, Gruha Jyoti (200 units of free power to all households) and Shakti (free travel for women in public transport buses) have already been implemented. Registrations are on for the Gruha Jyoti scheme.

Barring Anna Bhagya, the other two guarantees left to be implemented are Gruha Lakshmi (Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the female head of every family ) and Yuva Nidhi (Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders [both in the 18-25 age group] for two years).

Even by conservative estimates, the five schemes are slated to cost the state exchequer Rs 50,000 crore. The government has said all the guaranteed schemes will be rolled out gradually.