West Bengal will provide sugar, flour and semolina at half their usual cost to about eight crore beneficiaries through the public distribution system during the Puja week, Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari announced on Saturday. The state government has allocated an additional approximately Rs 150 crore to the Food Department for the scheme.
The announcement covers two crore families, according to the government. Sugar and flour will be supplied with a 50% subsidy, while the government is arranging the distribution of 500 grams of semolina to eligible beneficiaries. The products are scheduled to be made available through ration outlets during the Puja week.
Adhikari said the decision would extend the benefit to twice as many people as the previous arrangement cited by the government. He said the earlier Trinamool Congress government had provided similar Puja-period allocations to 50 lakh families with a 20% subsidy. The comparison was part of the chief minister’s announcement and was not independently assessed in the report.
The state has completed the tender process for flour and sugar, the report said. Flour has been procured at Rs 19 per kilogram, with the government providing an additional subsidy of Rs 19 per kilogram. Sugar will be supplied at Rs 30 per kilogram, with another Rs 30 per kilogram contributed by the state as subsidy.
The procurement process for semolina has not yet been completed. The government has invited tenders for the product, and the proposal is under administrative consideration. This means the timing and operational details for semolina distribution remain dependent on the completion of that process.
The scheme places the ration network at the centre of a large seasonal welfare operation. Its delivery will depend on procurement, allocation and distribution through existing public distribution channels, as well as the ability of ration outlets to make the products available within the Puja-week window.
Adhikari said the government expected more than eight crore people to benefit from the arrangement and described it as a larger Puja allocation than the one provided by the previous government. The Food Department will oversee the additional expenditure and the remaining procurement and administrative steps before distribution begins.
