Karnataka truckers halt Anna Bhagya guarantee rice supply over Rs 260 crore dues

India Today

a day ago

Food grain transportation under Karnataka's Anna Bhagya Guarantee Scheme came to a standstill on July 7, with lorry owners halting operations statewide in protest over non-payment of dues by the government. The Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents' Association and the Karnataka State Public Distribution Food Grains Transport Contractors' Association have alleged that the state has failed to clear outstanding payments of over Rs 260 crore since February.advertisementGR Shanmugappa, president of both associations, said they had transported nearly 25 lakh tonnes of rice under the scheme from February to June, but have not received any payments.
'The government says they have no money to pay us. In fact, to participate in the tender, we deposit money and our money is still with the government,' he said. 'Every time we request, they give different dates and tell us the government has no money. We are not going to transport rice anymore and we are not responsible for this anymore.'The contractors had earlier issued a 15-day ultimatum on June 19, warning of an indefinite strike if Rs 260 crore in dues were not cleared. They also demanded that Earnest Money Deposits be refunded and pointed to their financial distress, with many owner-drivers struggling to pay Employee Provident Fund, Employees' State Insurance and taxes. Despite repeated appeals, the association claimed the government had not taken any action, forcing them to stop work.Senior Congress legislator RV Deshpande acknowledged the delay but criticised the strike. 'There is a slight delay in the payment to the lorry owners. They have been working with the government for years now. But they can't paralyse the whole system. Small children are the final consumer of this rice,' he said.BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai criticised the Congress-led government over the crisis, saying, 'This government has gone bankrupt and people are fighting for the chair.'Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanswamy, said, "This government is an empty vessel, no money for development or guarantees. Just Rs 56,000 crores is kept for guarantees. What about the rest of the budget? AICC is taking money from Karnataka and now Bihar elections is coming and Congress party, sending money to Bihar."The ongoing strike threatens to severely disrupt the Anna Bhagya scheme, one of the five flagship guarantees of the Congress party, announced ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. The scheme has already faced difficulties. Since July 1, 2023, the government had been providing only 5 kg of rice instead of the promised 10 kg after the Union government declined to supply rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme.To compensate, the state began direct cash transfers of Rs 170 per beneficiary, calculated at Rs 34 per kg. However, with the Union government later agreeing to sell rice at a fixed price until June this year, Karnataka resumed distributing rice instead of cash. Now, with the transport network halted, the scheme faces renewed uncertainty.- Ends
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