President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to implement a national programme to provide essential food items at concessionary prices and a number of other benefits to individuals in low income groups.A special Electronic Card (e-Card) is to be given to all chosen recipients to purchase food items under the programme, a communiqué issued by the President’s media division said.

The beneficiaries will be chosen from Samurdhi recipients, non-Samurdhi recipients, individuals who do not have permanent jobs, needy workers in the plantation sector, disabled persons from families without jobs, families of widows without a proper income, elders without a permanent income and those suffering from serious illnesses.

Ensuring food safety and quality of life for such vulnerable groups is the objective of the programme.Under this programme, recipients will get essential food items such as sugar, tea, rice, flour, dhal, chickpeas, onions, chilies, dried fish, potatoes and milk powder at concessionary prices.

These food items will be issued through Lanka Sathosa outlets, Cooperative shops, and chosen retail food outlets across the country.Under the programme if the chosen retail food outlets, especially in the rural areas, do not have proper equipment such as refrigerators, they too would be provided at concessionary rates. Suitable shops to implement the programme are to be chosen from highly populated areas, settlements with a large concentration of low income families, rural areas, and plantation areas. Retail outlets managed by women entrepreneurs would be given priority.

The President through the programme also hopes to uplift the small scale entrepreneurs and producers of various food items. Food items produced by such entrepreneurs will be directly purchased from them by authorities without the involvement of any third party or middlemen. Priority at all times will be given to locally produced goods.

To coincide with the programme plans are afoot to supply clean drinking water to 150,000 identified households in rural, urban and plantation areas and develop 100,000 kilometers of rural roads.The recipients will also be provided with 100,000 land plots on a 30 year lease for agriculture and housing purposes through programmes implemented by Lands Ministry, the Land Reform Commission and the Bim Saviya programme.