Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 26: The Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC), constituted by the State Government, today took a historic decision of implementing National Food Security Act (NFSA), which will directly benefit 74 lakh souls in Jammu and Kashmir giving them access to Public Distribution System (PDS) ration at very low rates.
The decision to implement the NFSA was taken by the CSC at its meeting here this evening, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh. The CSC proposal would now go to the Cabinet that would take a final call on it in its next meeting during first week of December.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the CSC while taking a decision that the NFSA would be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir mooted two proposals for submission to the Cabinet on how to implement it.
Proposal No. 1 recommended that the NFSA should be implemented in entire Jammu and Kashmir from April 1, 2016 while Proposal No. 2 suggested that three districts each from Jammu and Kashmir regions and entire Ladakh be taken up for implementation of the project from January 1, 2016.
The CSC chairperson and members were not available for comments.
The CSC proposed that entire population of Below Poverty Line (BPL), Below Income Groups (BIGs) and socially backward and deprived people should be given the benefits of the NFSA.
“Nearly 74 lakh souls i.e. about 59 per cent of total population of Jammu and Kashmir (which is 1.25 crores as per 2011 census) would be benefited with implementation of the NFSA, which had been adopted by the Parliament and followed by various State Governments during previous UPA regime in 2013,” sources said.
However, the then NC-Congress coalition Government in Jammu and Kashmir had refused to implement the Act in the State despite demands from the Congress that it should be implemented.
Under the Act, the families falling under purview of the NFSA, would get rice at the rate of Rs 3 per kilogram, wheat at Rs 2 per kilogram and coarse grains at Re 1 per kilogram.
The CSC rejected the proposal for area wise implementation of the NFSA on the ground that it would send wrong signals of favouritism to particular places. Instead, it decided to go by set precedent of giving benefits of the Act to BPL, BIG and socially backward and deprived families, which would come around 74 lakh i.e. nearly 59 per cent population of the State would get huge benefits of the NFSA under the PDP-BJP regime.
Sources said the CSC discussed two proposals for implementation of the NFSA in Jammu and Kashmir. It recommended to the Cabinet that if the Act had to be implemented in entire Jammu and Kashmir, it should be implemented from April 1, 2016 to give enough time to implementing agencies including Consumers and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department.
However, it recommended that if the Government wanted to implement it district wise (in phases), it can start by taking three districts each of Jammu and Kashmir and both districts of Ladakh from January 1, 2016.
Several States had implemented the Act district wise and gradually cover the entire State for effective implementation of the new scheme.
“If the Cabinet decides to implement the Act district wise, it would pick up the extreme backward districts initially and slowly extend the scheme to entire State,” sources said, adding that in any case the Act had to be implemented in the entire State.
Sources said the CAPD Department has already done a lot of ground work for implementation of the scheme and would take some more days to complete remaining infrastructure.
The CSC, headed by Deputy Chief Minister, Incharge Power and Housing and Urban Development Departments, Dr Nirmal Singh, had Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu and CAPD Minister Choudhary Zulfikar Ali as its members. All of them attended today’s CSC in addition to Administrative Secretary, Finance Department, Navin Choudhary.
The CSC had also met on November 24.
The National Food Security Act, 2013 (also known as Right to Food Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India, which was aimed at providing subsidized food grains to the people of various BPL categories. It was signed into law on September 12, 2013, retroactive to July 5, 2013.
The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) has been converted into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India. It includes the Mid-day Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System.
Further, the NFSA 2013 recognized maternity entitlements. The Mid-day Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach the population entitled for it.
Pregnant women, lactating mothers and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free meals under the NFSA.
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