State to give nod to food security bill

The state government is all set to give its nod for the implementation of the food security bill. For the implementation of the Congress-led UPA government’s ambitious scheme, the total requisition of the foodgrain quota from the central government is expected to go down marginally from the existing requisition.

A standing committee of 30 parliamentarians headed by Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar is visiting Maharashtra on Thursday, ahead of the discussion on the bill next month.

According to an official from the food and civil supply department, the state will require 4.16 lakh tonnes of foodgrains from the Central quota against the current outlay of 4.38 lakh tonnes per month in the state.

“We have to cover 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population under food security. Identification of the beneficiaries will be done once the findings of the socio-economic surveys are finalised. Based on the parameters, the quota required from the Centre will be less than the current requirement. Currently, the quota released for those below poverty line is 35kg per family, which will now be around 5kg per person once the bill is passed,” said the official.

Bhagwan Sahai, principal secretary of the department, said the identification process will begin soon. The state, however, has opposed the constitution of a food security commission as suggested in the bill, and has informed the Centre that cases would be dealt with by the state consumer commission.

The officer also said computerisation of the public distribution system is on the cards.