Rs 500 Cr Drought Relief For Andhra

The Union cabinet on Friday cleared a slew of proposals including a Rs 500 crore drought relief package. It also cleared a draft memorandum of understanding for road development with France.

The drought relief measures are to be extended to the affected districts of Andhra Pradesh. There would also be an additional foodgrain allocation of 20 kg a month for families both above and below the poverty line _ at below-poverty line rates. The present allocation is 20 kg a month for below-poverty line families and 10 kg a month for above-poverty line families.

"The MoU will help in highway engineering and execution of toll-based products," Parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters.

 

The cabinet also cleared the proposal to lease additional three transponders from Thaicom satellite for a period of three years. The additional three transponders will cost the government Rs 40.02 crore. The transponders will be used for providing extended C band frequency. "At present, there is only one C band transponder in the present Insat system and there is a need for immediate relief," Mahajan said. The Cabinet also cleared the proposal to import 50,000 metric tonnes of rice through the State Trading Corporation from Myanmar. The imported rice will be distributed in the North Easter states through the public distribution system.

"The landed cost of rice from Myanmar is almost the same as the cost of rice imported from Punjab or Andhra Pradesh and we also hope that the decision will create better relationship with Myanmar which is important in today's scenario," Mahajan said.