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66 lakh NFSA card holders to get Rs.1000 as financial aid for April : CM

Chief Minister of the state Mr.Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Nitin Patel have taken a  number of decisions for the welfare of the poor and labourers amidst the lockdown due to COVID-19.

Adding one more to the list, the CM announced that 66 lakh NFSA card holders will get a sum of Rs.1000 as financial aid for the month of April.

Providing details about the decision of the CM, Secretary to CM Mr.Ashwani Kumar said, “ The decision has been taken in order to ensure that the poor and labourers have money to take care of their expenses amidst the lockdown. A sum of Rs.1000 will be deposited through DBT for 66 lakh NFSA beneficiaries. The state government will bear an additional burden of Rs.660 crores for the same. The eligible families are not required to fill any form of documentations for the same.”

The CM had decided to start free food grain distribution for 60 lakh middle class families with APL-1 cards ,i.e around 2.5 crore people, from 13^th April, 2020. Out of these, 45 lakh families have already availed its benefits till date. 45 thousand metric ton of wheat, 15 thousand metric ton of rice, 4500 metric ton of sugar and pulses each have been distributed so far. The free food grain distribution will continue for the remaining APL-1 card holders.

The CM also held a video conference with oil mill owners from Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Jamnagar, and Rajkot in the presence of Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies, M.D of Warehousing Corporation and Secretary to CM. The meeting was done to ensure that people do not face shortage of cooking oil and that the prices do not sky rocket amidst the crisis.

“The CM had decided to re-start APMCs form 15^th April, 2020. 63 APMCs are operational in Gujarat as of today,” said the Secretary. 33, 873 quintal of farm produce have been sold in the APMCs in 2 days. This includes 27, 850 quintals of wheat, 10,206 quintals of mustard and 2124 quintals of other products have been sold.

Providing details about the essential items in the state, Mr. Kumar said, “ 46.57 lakh liters of milk has been distributed. 74,593 quintals of vegetables and 10,190 quintals of fruits are available in the market.”

Source: Information Department, Gujarat