Every eligible family will get a ration card: Uttam Kumar

Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana was distributing rice to beneficiaries on a scale that was not being seen in any other State in the country.

Speaking at a programme to distribute new smart ration cards in Sangareddy, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said rice worth ₹14,800 crore was being distributed to 3.42 crore people in the State. He said the number of ration cards had increased substantially from the 89 lakh cards issued during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.

He said the issue of ration cards was a continuous process and eligible beneficiaries would continue to be covered. He criticised BRS leaders for repeatedly making what he described as false claims about the government’s welfare programmes.

Health Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha said protecting the poor was the responsibility of the government. He said the Congress had the credit of distributing nearly 25 lakh acres of land to the poor and introducing several welfare schemes and laws at the national level.

Mr. Raja Narsimha urged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to develop the Singur project in Sangareddy district as a tourist destination.

TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said smart ration cards represented food security, government identity and dignity for families. He said Telangana was implementing several welfare schemes that were not available in other States.

District in-charge Minister G. Vivek Venkataswamy said the government was providing bonuses to farmers growing millets and other small grains to encourage their cultivation. He said the Congress government was fulfilling its election promise of providing incentives to such farmers.

He said the government was taking steps to create employment opportunities for youth and establish technology centres equipped with advanced facilities. Efforts were also being made to facilitate overseas employment for unemployed youth through organisations such as TomTom, he said.

MP Suresh Kumar Shetkar, MLAs Sanjeeva Reddy and Naveen Yadav, former MLA T. Jayaprakash Reddy (Jagga Reddy), Corporation chairperson Nirmala Jagga Reddy, former Minister A. Chandrasekhar and others were present.