Govt orders new lists after review for rice at Tk 10 per kg scheme

NEWS DESK

The government has ordered local authorities to review the lists of beneficiaries of the Food Friendly Programme under which five million families get rice at Tk 10 per kilogram.

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder ordered the administrators and food controllers of the districts in Dhaka division to include only those who are really poor and helpless in the new lists in a meeting via video conferencing on Wednesday.

The government launched the programme in 2016. The beneficiaries received 30 kg rice a month in March, April, September, October and November.

The government issues registration cards to the families for the distribution, reports FT.

The food minister asked the officials to verify the lists after getting complaints over irregularities from different parts of Bangladesh, the ministry said in a statement.

The officials must not fear intimidation or show nepotism while making the lists, the minister said.

He also ordered replacing the tag officers, who had been tasked with making the lists, if necessary.

Sadhan discussed the coronavirus crisis, its impact on the supply of food, harvesting during the ongoing Boro crop season and collection of paddy and rice by the government.

He said the committees formed to collect the grains will have to select the farmers through lottery in their presence at every union.

Food Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum reminded the officials of using separate seals on sacks of rice for different schemes, such as Food Friendly Programme and Open Market Sale.