Telangana CM favours Giving Money Instead Of PDS Rice To Poor

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday favoured implementation of a fool-proof PDS policy to put an end to irregularities in the present system.

Rao, who held a meeting with ministers and officials on the public distribution system, expressed anguish that irregularities are taking place and the government is getting a bad name though it spends Rs 6,500 crore every year on the PDS, a release from his office said. Rao favoured implementation of an effective policy which benefits the poor fully as intended by the government, it said.

Officials briefed him on the Direct Benefit Transfer system in Chandigarh, Pondicherry and other places, and suggested that money can be directly deposited in the accounts of beneficiaries so that they can make purchases on their own.

The CM asked the officials to find out whether supply of rice is a better system or the direct money transfer, the release added. The officials also informed that alternative arrangements are being made in view of a strike notice given by the PDS shop owners.

PTI