Madhya Pradesh 3rd state to give subsidised grain

About 35 mn poor families may get benefits from the scheme which has the highest malnutrition rate in India

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan sounded the poll bugle on April 22 by announcing the availability of wheat at Re 1 a kg and rice at Rs 2 a kg to poor families from June 1.

About 35 million poor families are expected to get benefits from the scheme in a state which has the highest malnutrition rate in India. Of them, 1.8 million people come from Antyodaya (poorest of the poor) families and the rest are from below the poverty line (BPL). "The scheme has been implemented across the state and district collectors are directly responsible for implementation. We have implemented it across all 50 districts and have not received any complaint yet," says Praveen Garg, principal secretary, food and civil supplies department.

After TN and Chhattisgarh, MP is the third Indian state to make subsidised foodgrains available to BPL families. The polls in the state are slated towards the end of the year.