Bhopal, Apr 25: Member of Parliament and former Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu would launch the state-level Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Yojana at Bhopal on Saturday. A consumer awareness camp would be held from 11 am at Lal Parade Ground at Motilal Nehru Stadium. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would preside over the programme of launching the novel scheme of providing subsidised food grains to BPL families.

Naidu will also address election cell members of the party. Thereafter, Naidu will address a press conference and will fly back to Mumbai.

Those who would be present as special guests on the occasion would include MP Kailash Joshi, Commercial Taxes Minister Babulal Gaur, Finance Minister Raghavji, Civil Supplies Minister Akhand Pratap Singh and MLA Arif Aqeel, Uma Shankar Gupta and Bhaktpal Singh.

The scheme to supply subsidised food grains would be launched the same day at 3 pm at Indore by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would preside while special guests would include MP Sumitra Mahajan and Public Works Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya. On April 27, the scheme would be formally launched at districts. The district-level functions would be attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuvan Chand Khanduri and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh.

Large-scale preparations have been made for this ambitious scheme of the state government in the interest of poor people. Under this scheme, each BPL family (holder of blue ration card) would be provided 20 kilogramme food grains per month. Wheat would be provided at the rate of Rs three per kg and rice at the rate of Rs 4.50 per kg from ration shops. Those who would also attend the camps under Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Yojana include directors of BPL families Committees, lead\link managers and salesmen, directors of consumers stores, Sarpanchas connected with Panchayat-run fair price shops, panchas, Panchayat Secretaries etc. A 20-kg packet of food grains would be given to 100 beneficiary families at the camps. Government has issued instructions to district collectors to ensure that the benefit of this scheme should reach thebeneficiary families alone and they would be held accountable for it.

They have also been instructed to ensure that food grains distribution is made under the supervision of Monitoring Committee set up for each fair price shop and there is no black marketing and other irregularities at any cost. For this purpose, teams of officers of different departments would be formed. Collectors have been asked to tell fair price shops owners to fill all the columns in the distribution register and enter in the ledgers the exact quantity of various food grains being supplied to the beneficiaries. District collectors have been instructed to take stern action against the fair price shops where irregularities are detected. In such cases they have been asked to register cases against them under the provisions of Essential Commodities Act and under Prevention of Blackmarketing Act against those who have already been booked for blackmarketing in the past.