The Himachal Pradesh chief minister, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, directed the Civil Supplies Corporation to ensure disaster-affected families get free LPG connections and free ration.
Sukhu while chairing 173rd meeting of the board of directors of Himachal Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited, here on Saturday evening, said that the state government has launched a scheme for providing free LPG connections and free ration to the disaster-affected families.
He said that eligible beneficiaries have already started receiving the benefits under the scheme and directed the food and civil supplies officers to monitor effective implementation of the scheme ensuring that the affected people get their due rights.
Sukhu said that the affected families were being provided an LPG cylinder, pressure regulator, hot plate, and safety pipe. The state government will cover all associated expenses, including the cost of LPG domestic refill and the Blue books.
To ensure that the affected families have access to nutritious food, the state government is providing free ration that includes 20kg wheat atta, 15kg rice, three kg pulses, one litre Mustard oil, one litre Soya refined oil, one kg double fortified salt and two kg sugar.
The free ration aid will be provided till March 31, 2024, the CM said.
Sukhu said that the corporation did a business of Rs 1,955 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal and its net profit stood at Rs 87 lakh. The CM lauded the corporation for establishing itself as trustworthy and a dealer of quality products.
He directed to make the corporation a fully digitalized, commercial, and professional entity.
The CM further said that for procuring FMCG products, the corporation should sign MoUs with the leading companies like Godrej and Bajaj so that consumers get quality at the cheapest rates.
He also asked the corporation to open 52 new “Fair Price Medicine Shops” in various government health institutions across the state to facilitate patients by offering them medicines and other surgical equipment at reasonable rates.