Agartala, Oct 07: In a set of decisions ahead of the festive season, the Dr. Manik Saha-led Tripura cabinet has approved the formation of Tripura Staff Selection Commission and free puja special ration kits for consumers. 

Speaking to the media at the secretariat on Wednesday, Food minister Sushanta Chowdhury said, to streamline recruitment to Group-B, Group-C and Group-D posts under the State Government, the Staff Selection Commission would be constituted. 

The minister said the Staff Selection Commission would be established with the objective of making the recruitment process across various departments faster, transparent and better organised.

Through the proposed commission, examinations for recruitment to Group-B, Group-C and Group-D posts under the State Government will be conducted and the selection of candidates will be undertaken through a structured mechanism.

He said, the cabinet on Thursday also decided to provide sugar, flour and suji free of cost to 9.92 lakh ration card holders in view of the festivities.

Meanwhile, the State Government has decided to distribute one kilogram of sugar, two kilograms of flour and 500 grams of semolina free of cost to every ration card holder.

The distribution is scheduled to begin around the middle of October, during the period between Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja.

According to the Food Minister, the decision was taken with the objective of extending support to people during the festive season. Under the programme, the government will distribute approximately 243 metric tonnes of semolina, 1,984 metric tonnes of flour and 992 metric tonnes of sugar.

The estimated expenditure for the initiative is expected to be between Rs. 9.35 crore and Rs. 9.85 crore.