Tripura government announces free sugar, flour and semolina to 9.83 lakh ration card holders

The Tripura government will provide sugar, flour and semolina (suji) free of cost to 9.83 lakh ration card holders in the state. 

Addressing a press conference on September 27 afternoon, Tripura's Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Minister, Sushanta Chowdhury said that the decision was taken during yesterday's cabinet meeting under the leadership of Chief Minister Manik Saha.

"From the Food and Civil Supplies Department, we have decided to provide 1 kg of sugar, 2 kg of flour, and 500 grams of semolina (suji) free of cost to 9.83 lakh ration card holders. All the cabinet ministers, including the chief minister, have agreed to provide this on the occasion of Durga Puja. It will start from October," said the Minister.

He mentioned that the department will need to spend Rs 6.84 crore for this initiative. 

"Every year we provide these items at subsidized rates through PDS, but not free of cost. This time, however, it was a special decision the government took as people have suffered losses due to the flood. About 3000 MT of sugar has already entered the state, and more is on the way. Ration shops have started distributing sugar," said Chowdhury.

The Minister further informed that on September 30, in the presence of the chief minister, a state-level seminar on Consumer Rights and the inauguration of Consumer Clubs will take place.

He also said, "We have paper-based ration cards, and we have decided to convert these ration cards into PVC or Smart Cards. The work has already begun. The Food Department and National Informatics Centre (NIC) are working together to provide the new cards within the next few months, replacing the old ones. By December, we will cover all ration card holders in Agartala Municipal Corporation areas, and within the next three months, we will cover all who have completed E-KYC."