GUWAHATI — The Assam government has announced a temporary, two-month suspension of its flagship public distribution initiative, the “Affordable Supply of Masur Dal, Sugar and Salt” scheme. Effective from June 2026, the supply of these three essential commodities at highly subsidised rates will be paused across the state.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Department clarified that the halt is a routine administrative measure stemming from the state’s transitional financial arrangements following the recent assembly elections.
The Reason Behind the Pause: Vote-on-Account Budget
The temporary suspension is directly linked to the state currently operating under an interim financial arrangement. Ahead of the state assembly elections in February, then Finance Minister Ajanta Neog had presented a vote-on-account budget of ₹62,294.78 crore to fund essential government expenditures and public services for the interim period.
Because the financial provisions under that interim budget were only allocated up until May 2026, funding for the specific subsidy scheme has lapsed. In a public notice published in local newspapers, the state supply department explained that the full budget for the fiscal year 2026–27 will be introduced by the newly formed government in July 2026.
“The new government will present a full budget in July, and after its passage, the scheme will restart from August,” the official department notification stated.
Impact on Ration Card Holders and Open Market Prices
The suspension is poised to temporarily alter the monthly grocery budgets of approximately 70 lakh ration card holders across Assam.
Under the flagship welfare scheme—which was rolled out to provide financial relief to low-income families—beneficiaries were entitled to purchase fixed monthly quotas at heavily reduced rates:
- Masoor Dal (Pulses): Provided at ₹60 per kg
- Sugar: Provided at ₹30 per kg
- Salt: Provided at ₹10 per kg
With the subsidy temporarily on hold for June and July, eligible families will have to buy these items from the open market at prevailing market retail prices.
Distribution of Leftover Stocks and Uninterrupted Free Rice
To soften the immediate impact on vulnerable families, the government has directed all local Fair Price shops to clear their existing inventory. If any retail dealers or ration shops have leftover stocks of Masoor dal, sugar, or salt from the May distribution cycle, they are authorized to hand them over to poor families in June.
The government strongly emphasized that the core components of the Public Distribution System (PDS) remain completely unaffected. The distribution of monthly free rice under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) will continue completely uninterrupted. This ensures that the foundational food grain supply for over 2.49 crore citizens in the state remains completely intact while the government navigates its fiscal transition.
