Agartala, June 4 (IANS): The Left Front government in Tripura will provide subsidised edible mustard oil and masoor dal (red lentils) under the public distribution system (PDS), Chief Minister Manik Sarkar announced here Wednesday.
He also announced a new health scheme to provide financial aid up to Rs.125,000 for those families whose annual income does not exceed Rs.100,000.
"From now onwards, each ration card holder's family, would get one litre edible mustard oil and two kg masoor dal per month with the subsidy of Rs.15 and Rs.10 respectively," Sarkar told reporters.
This decision would benefit 9.65 lakh households, comprising 3.7 million people, including around four lakh families living below the poverty line (BPL) in Tripura.
"To give relief to the people from the sufferings of the rising prices of the essentials, the state government has decided to provide subsidised edible mustard oil and masoor dal under the PDS," Sarkar told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The chief minister said providing the subsidised items would cost the state government Rs.40.53 crore annually.
Sarkar, also a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member, said that the Left party has been demanding to provide 14 basic essential items to the people through the PDS and universalisation of the PDS.
Currently Tripura government is providing rice, wheat products, kerosene, salt and sugar to the people through the PDS.
The CPI-M led Left government in Tripura since August 2012, has been providing rice under the PDS to the poor at Rs.2 a kg and increase its quota for others to 20 kg a month instead of 18 kg per month at the expense of additional amount of Rs 36.45 crore annually.
The chief minister has announced a new health scheme - Tripura Health Assurance Scheme (THAS) - to provide financial aid up to Rs.125,000 for those families whose annual income is Rs 100,000.
"Under the new scheme, financial assistance of Rs.125,000 would be provided for the treatment of seven dreaded diseases, including cancer, cardiological, neurological, neo-natal diseases," Sarkar added.
The THAS likely to be benefit around 3,000 patients per year and Rs 37.50 crore would be spending annually from the government exchequer on the measure.