A massive operation for transport and milling of pulses is underway in the country to distribute one kilogram of pulses to about twenty crore households for three months under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
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Key-Points
The massive operation includes the lifting of un-milled pulses from the godowns, getting the pulses cleaned, and then reaching them to the states for distribution.
Under the scheme, NAFED will distribute around 5.88 lakh metric tonnes (MT) pulses to about 20 crore National Food Security Act households through ration shops for 3 months.
Most of the beneficiaries will receive the quota for the first month within April or the latest by the first week of May.
In the first move, several States and Union Territories (UT) will get the pulses for all three months. The remaining state will preferably within the third week of May.
The operation will involve about 2 lakh truck trips and loading and unloading operation over a period of four weeks.
For implementation, the Department of Consumer Affairs has set up five groups of officers headed by Joint Secretaries to coordinate with states, NAFED, Dal mills, and warehousing corporations. It is monitored on a daily basis.
The move will meet the protein needs of people during this hour of crisis due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Central government has allowed the use of its stock of pulses lying in about 165 NAFED godowns across the country for this scheme.
Over 100 Dal mills across the country have been pressed into service so far. The States and UTs have taken one-third of the monthly requirement of pulses to final destinations for distribution.
17 States and UTs including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu have begun distribution of pulses. So far, about 30,000 MT of pulses has been distributed.
Many States and UTs, particularly the smaller ones like Andamans, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep have been provided with cleaned pulses for all 3 months.
