Minister defends Rs 1 kilo rice scheme

Primary Education Minister Dokka Manikyavara Prasad on Thursday stated that the state government was committed to implement one rupee kilo rice scheme for the poor and down trodden people.

Talking to media persons after participating in a series of programmes in the district, the Minister said that the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has announced the scheme after discussing threadbare with officials concerned over the financial consequences. He said that the government has planned to implement the scheme after studying the recommendations of Tendulkar Committee.

The Minister said that the Tendulkar Committee was set up by National Development Council in 2009 to look into the methodology for estimating poverty. Based on the recommendations of committee, the government took the decision of implementing one rupee a kilo rice to eradicate poverty. He slammed the Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for criticizing the State Government on welfare schemes.