Food security law still facing hurdle

25 states, UTs yet to implement it

One year on, the Modi government is still struggling to implement the United Progressive Alliance’s food security law that aims to provide highly subsidised food grains to 67 per cent of the country’s population.
 

In the past one year, the Modi government has been able to implement the act in 11 states and Union Territories, including Karnataka. However, the remaining 25 states and Union Territories are yet to finalise the list of beneficiaries eligible to receive subsidised food grains, a pre-requisite as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA) .

Officials claim that the reluctance of states to update the list of beneficiaries has emerged as the biggest hurdle in the implementation of the law. “Updating the list of beneficiaries would mean deleting several names. It is a tough political decision for the state governments,” said an official.

The 25 states have been given time till September 30 to complete the process of identification of beneficiaries under the Act. This is the third extension granted to the states. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry are yet to complete the requisite preparations for rolling out of NFSA.

As many as 81.35 crore persons are entitled to receive subsidised food grains under the NFSA. Currently, as many as 6.5 crore households under the below poverty line category and 11.5 crore households under the above poverty line category receive subsidised food grains under the targeted public distribution scheme (TPDS). The estimated food grain requirement under NFSA is about nine per cent higher than the existing TPDS.  Meanwhile, the government notified rules in January for payment of food security allowance to beneficiaries of the NFSA in case of non-delivery of food grains. The Modi government has also decided to share 50 per cent of transport and handling cost and dealer’s margins payable by the states for implementation of the act. For hilly states and difficult areas, the Centre will bear 75 per cent of the costs to make sure that these costs are not passed to the beneficiaries of the act.