Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has raised concerns over the recent budget and the discontinuation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) by the Centre. During a press conference today, BJD’s Senior Vice President Debi Prasad Mishra stated that the PMGKAY, which provided an additional 5 kilograms of free rice per person, was started to enhance household food security for the poor. However, its discontinuation will have a negative impact on both the household food security of the poor and the livelihood of farmers.
Mishra pointed out that the recent budget saw a decrease in food subsidies by around Rs 71,000 crores compared to the amount spent in 2021-22, primarily due to the discontinuation of the PMGKAY program. He highlighted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the poor have already lost their savings and their livelihoods have yet to return to normalcy. The discontinuation of the PMGKAY will further affect their chances of recovery.
Furthermore, Mishra stated that the farmers will also be affected by the discontinuation of PMGKAY as the recent budget also saw a decrease of about Rs 20,000 crores in the procurement of food grains compared to the previous year. This reduction in procurement will impact the farmers’ ability to receive the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their food grains.
Mishra appealed to the Centre to restart the PMGKAY program in the interests of the poor and the farmers. He also hoped that the BJP MPs would raise the matter with their party and emphasize the need for the restart of the PMGKAY. Mishra criticized the Centre for discontinuing the PMGKAY without providing an alternate program or mitigating its financial impact on the poor.
