Free rice, cash aid will continue in May: CM KCR.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday said the 12 kg free rice and Rs 1,500 cash assistance for white card holders in the State will continue in May too.

He said that all the 87.50 lakh card holders in the State will receive 12 kg rice per unit for May also, besides the Rs 1,500 that will be transferred to bank accounts in the first week of May.

“We have deposited the money in banks. Rumours are being spread that the money will be taken back. This is baseless, and anyone can withdraw the money anytime. There is no need to crowd up in front of banks and thereby breaking the social distancing norms,” he said.

The Chief Minister also declared that the 40 lakh Aasara pensioners will get the full amount for May. Evey single migrant labour in the State too will continue receiving 12 kg rice and Rs 500 benefit while migrant families will get 12 kg per head and Rs 1,500 per family, he said.

Chandrashekhar Rao also directed house owners in the State not to pressurize or collect rent from tenants for the months of March, April and May, invoking the provisions of Disaster Management Act.

He advised them to collect the same in



installments at a later date that too without charging any interest from the tenants. “The State has the power to do so and if any tenant is harassed by the house owner, they can dial 100 and lodge a formal complaint,” he said adding that property tax of GHMC or municipalities for the financial year 2019-20 to be paid in March will be collected without any penalty up to May 31.

Passing strict instructions to educational institutions in the State to refrain from increasing school fee for 2020-21 academic year, the Chief Minister said the government has noticed that some schools have already started sending demand notices to parents. He reminded managements that most of the parents have no incomes due to the prolonged lockdown and are living on meagre supplies.

Turning to industries that are also undergoing financial problems due to shutdown, the Chief Minister said the Cabinet has decided to defer collection of fixed costs of April and May. “For instance collection of base electricity charges for April and May will be deferred. They will also receive 1 per cent rebate. But they will have to pay in installments, and there will be will be no penalty,” he added.