Sikkim: Rice distributed free of cost to beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act

As per the recent announcement by the Government of India, the Food and Civil Supplies Department is now distributing rice "free of cost" to all Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Household (PHH) beneficiaries as per their entitlements for a period of one year from January 01, 2023, to 31 December 2023. 

It was informed through an official press release from the office of the Food & Civil Supplies Department Government of Sikkim. 

It is to be mentioned here that till last year as per the National Food Security Act, 2013, the Department of Food and Civil Supplies Department distributed rice to 16500 Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Households and 3,24,081 Priority Household (PHH) individual members at the scale of 35 kgs per Households and 5 kgs to individual members every month at the rate of Rs 3 per kg.

Also Read: Sikkim: CM Goley established state’s prestige at national level, claims ruling SKM  

Earlier in December 2022, the union government decided to make ration available for free, and not just on subsidised rates, to those covered under the National Food Security Act at least till December 2023.

Lashing out at the opposition party Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM ) on January 14 said that Pawan Chamling excels in playing the mind game. SKM said that Chamling has mastered this art over the course of thirty years.

"Pawan Chamling lighting a candle inside the Assembly, purportedly in search of democracy too, was a farce. It was a farce because Pawan Chamling dared to execute these theatrics only when former Chief Minister N.B. Bhandari was beleaguered and was losing his grip on power.", SKM said.

The party alleged that Pawan Chamling went on to head one of the most ruthless governments, Sikkim has ever had. 

During Pawan Chamling's tenure opposition leaders disappeared, newspapers questioning him were banned, journalists were fatally attacked, and opposition leaders and students brutally lathi-charged, the party said.

"That was the mind game Pawan Chamling deployed way back in 1993, and succeeded in hoodwinking the Sikkimese people into believing his carefully orchestrated theatrics as his crusade for democracy so much so that his deliberate attempt at sowing seeds of communal distrust amongst the Sikkimese people by distributing Gayatri Mantra was, to the detriment of Sikkim's social fabric, ignored by a majority of the people. Sikkim is still paying a price for it.", SKM said.