Hyderabad, January 17: While deciding to cut the kerosene quota to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in view of shortage, the Andhra Pradesh Government today decided to release four lakh new cooking gas connections under the “Deepam” scheme to BPL families.
Speaking after a review meeting called by Chief Minister K Rosaiah, Civil Supplies Minister J Krishan Rao said eligibility criteria had been revised to cover all women members of the BPL families to release as many as four lakh new connections under the scheme.
Only eight litres of keronsene would be supplied henceforth to non-cooking gas connection holders in Municipal corporations, four litres in Muncipalities/Mandal headquarters and two litres in rural areas, he said. The present allotment of kerosene by the Centre would be just adequate to meet the requirement of BPL families on the proposed scales, he added.
The District Collectors had been asked to construct godowns with space to store five lakh tonnes of farm produce and rent them to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Another one lakh tonne godown space would be constructed by the state Civil Supplies Corporation, the Minister said.
——-Agencies