Hyderabad: Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has asked public representatives to eat meals with families benefiting from the fine rice scheme. He suggested they follow the example of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who recently had lunch with a beneficiary family during his visit to Bhadrachalam.
Speaking in a video conference from Jala Soudha with MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, he encouraged leaders to spread awareness about the scheme by visiting households and sharing meals with the beneficiaries. He also told them to strongly counter the misinformation being spread by BRS leaders, especially on social media. The minister reassured the public that every eligible person would receive a ration card, and he instructed officials to visit homes to make sure no one is left out.
He dismissed criticism from the BJP and BRS parties, explaining that the central government is only providing 5 kg of coarse rice in limited amounts. In contrast, the Congress-led Telangana government is giving 6 kg of fine rice to each beneficiary by spending over ₹13,000 crore every year. He emphasized that nearly 3.10 crore people—about 84 percent of Telangana’s population—will benefit from this scheme. The minister said it is wrong to give credit to the Centre since the State is the one providing the higher quality fine rice that families prefer.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government plans to distribute 30 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice every year. The total cost of this program will be around ₹13,523 crore annually. Currently, both the Centre and State together spend ₹10,665 crore on food distribution. With more beneficiaries joining, the cost will rise by about ₹2,858 crore, increasing the State’s share to ₹8,033 crore. He stated that the government is ready to handle this extra cost to ensure food security for all.
The minister also shared that when Telangana was formed, there were 89.73 lakh white ration cards. During the 10 years of BRS rule, only 49,479 new cards were added. There was no major effort to include more people in the system. Since the Congress party came to power, nearly 30 lakh new applications have already been received and are being processed. Once approved, the number of beneficiaries will reach 3.10 crore.
