Kolkata, Dec 18 (IANS): Months before the West Bengal Assembly elections, the state's Mamata Banerjee government on Friday decided to start a new food security scheme under which three crore beneficiaries will be entitled to get food grains at Rs.3 per kg.

"Currently our government gives rice at Rs.2 per kg to 3.33 crore people in the state. We are starting a new scheme for food security from January 27.

"Three crore additional people will be included in this system and will get food grains at Rs.3 per kg," Banerjee said at the state secretariat Nabanna after a cabinet meeting.

Altogether around seven crore people will be entitled to benefits of the state government's food security schemes, she said.

Banerjee said the cabinet also adopted a rehabilitation package for tea garden workers in northern West Bengal as well as for people living in Jangalmahal - the Left Wing Extremist affected areas of the state.

The state assembly polls are slated to take place in the first half of next year.