Govt to give Rs 2/kg rice to BPL families in poll-bound Karnataka

BANGALORE: Apparently with an eye on the Assembly elections due by May, Karnataka Cabinet today cleared a proposal to provide rice to families below poverty line at Rs two per kg from this month.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had made the announcement in the budget that it would be implemented from April but now it has been advanced as elections to the Assembly are slated to be announced later this month, leading to enforcement of the model code of conduct.

Till now, rice supplied through public distribution system was priced at Rs three per kg.

Briefing reporters after a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Shettar, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri said the decision would benefit 88.5 lakh BPL card holders.

The measure would cost the exchequer an additional Rs 161 crore annually, he said.

The Cabinet also gave the green signal to take up improvement of 3,700 kms (70 packages) under the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project II at a cost of Rs 1,435 crore.

It was also decided to invite tender for solar projects with a capacity of 500 mw, Kageri said.

The Cabinet decided to convert the residence of General K S Thimmaiah, former Chief of Army Staff, into a memorial in the district headquarters town of Madikeri at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore.