Chandigarh, May 16 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday urged the Centre to change the criteria for allocation of 'chana whole' (chickpea/Bengal gram) from per household to per person to ensure equitable distribution of food grain among the migrants amid the Covid lockdown.

The Chief Minister has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for directions to the Union inistry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to this effect, as the existing guidelines would create problems for migrants as well as the state government.

The Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister for acceding to his request, as per letter dated March 30, to extend the benefit of food grain and pulses under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to the migrants, whose plight he had highlighted.

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has since made an announcement to this effect, benefiting eight crore migrant workers across the country, he said.

However, as per the guidelines issued on May 15 by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, while wheat was to be distributed at 5 kg per person per month for two months, 'chana whole' would be distributed at 1 kg per household per month during the pandemic.

This meant that while the benefit of wheat would be extended to migrants equivalent to 10 per cent of existing NFSA beneficiaries in Punjab, i.e., 14.1 lakh migrants, that of 'chana whole' would benefit only 3.6 lakh migrant households, he said.

Since a vast majority of migrant workers travel without their families, extending the concept of household in the state where they are temporarily residing does not make much sense, Amarinder Singh pointed out.