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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Centre raps states over food security Act implementation
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Centre raps states over food security Act implementation

Will not allow states to avail of subsidies under the above-poverty-line category if they do not complete procedures under NFSA by April 2015, says Paswan

A file photo of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Photo: MintPremium
A file photo of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: The ambitious initiative to provide subsidized foodgrains to a vast swath of India’s population is struggling as states go slow on identifying beneficiaries, digitizing records and taking steps for doorstep delivery, forcing the Centre to threaten coercive action to get the ambitious plan rolling.

After a review meeting with food secretaries of states and union territories, Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said many states have requested extending the deadline to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was enacted last year.

“Even after extending the deadline twice, states have failed to complete formalities. Unless they finish identification and digitization of beneficiary list and Aadhaar seeding with ration cards, in future, we will ensure that food subsidy is availed of by only those who complete the procedures," Paswan said. “We will not allow states to avail of subsidies under the above-poverty-line (APL) category if they do not complete procedures under NFSA by April 2015," he added.

As of now, only 11 states including Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are implementing NFSA. Others have not yet identified beneficiaries entitled to wheat at 2 per kg and rice at 3 per kg guaranteed under the Act.

NFSA entitles 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to five kilos of food grain per person per month at subsidised rates. When the law was enacted in July 2013, states were asked to finish implementation procedures by June 2014. The deadline was later extended by six months and has been further extended to 5 April.

“Today, Jharkhand informed that they will be ready to implement NFSA by June next year while Odisha said they will take till August 2015," Paswan said. “Even states which are implementing the Act are yet to complete procedures like end-to-end computerisation of the public distribution system (PDS), seeding of ration cards with Aadhaar card and ensure doorstep delivery of grains."

The minister said Bihar was yet to complete identification of more than a crore beneficiaries, while Rajasthan and Punjab were yet to take up digitization of records. Maharashtra has seeded only 40% of ration cards with Aadhaar and is yet to take any measures to ensure doorstep delivery.

“We want the system to be transparent. Right now, there is no way to ensure that benefits are reaching the beneficiaries or PDS grains are sold in the open market," Paswan said, adding, “in the past, poor quality foodgrains supplied under the mid-day meal scheme (meant for school-going children) have been reported widely."

However, activists say the Aadhaar-ration card linkage is not mandatory. “The NFSA does not require linking Aadhaar cards with ration cards," said Dipa Sinha, a Right to Food campaigner and fellow at the Centre for Equity Studies in New Delhi. “The centre’s insistence could be a precursor to direct cash transfers. Further, the NFSA does not spell out the criterion for identifying beneficiaries and states like Jharkhand and Odisha may be taking more time as the number of beneficiary under NFSA will double in these states," said Sinha.

In the current financial year, 1.11 trillion is set aside as food subsidy to implement the NFSA and the existing targeted PDS.

“The food minister is on the dot with his insistence on digitisation of PDS records," said Ashok Gulati, chair professor for agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. “The old system suffers from huge leakages going up to 40% of the food subsidy bill and states must finish procedures before the centre puts more money into a broken bucket."

“To put in place a digitized system with Aadhaar seeding—like in the case of subsidized cooking gas—will enable the transition into a direct cash transfer system in future. This will further help plug leakages," Gulati added.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sayantan Bera
Sayantan is a National Writer with the Long Story team at Mint, covering food and nutrition, agriculture, and rural economy. His reportage is based on granular ground reports, tying it with broader macroeconomic realities, with a sharp focus on people and livelihoods. Beyond rural issues, Sayantan has written deep dives on topics spanning healthcare, gender, education, and science.
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Published: 11 Dec 2014, 12:25 AM IST
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