Agartala, Jul 23 (IANS): The central government has provided additional quota of rice at a subsidised rate for the poor living in 12 backward districts in the northeast, a state government official said here Monday.

"The union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution on the direction of the Supreme Court has allocated additional quota of food grain to identified 174 districts in 27 states, which include 12 districts in northeast region," Tripura Principal Secretary (food department) B.K. Roy told reporters.

Of the 12 backward and poor districts in northeast India, five are in Assam followed by one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura.

The eight northeastern states have 90 districts.

"The identified poor people are now getting food grain on ad hoc basis up to 35 kg per month per family at a subsidised rate for a period ending March 2013," Roy added.

The rate of food grain differs state to state. The Tripura government has recently decided to provide rice under the public distribution system (PDS) to the poor at Rs.2 a kg from next month.

The Supreme Court had constituted a Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) under Justice D.P. Wadhwa to supervise the PDS in 174 districts, identified by the Planning Commission in 2006 following a writ petition filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) alleging irregularities in various food and works related schemes.

"The apex court time to time has been giving various directions on the supply of food grain. Providing extra quota of food grain to identified 174 districts in 27 states was its latest direction," the official added.