Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 1: Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan today said a decision on providing subsidized ration, in addition to what is supplied under NFSA, to Jammu and Kashmir Government for implementing Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMSFES) would be taken soon, while it assured the state of providing three months ration in advance.
“The State Government has demanded that additional ration be supplied at subsidized rates. We will discuss it in a meeting on July 14 with the state as well as the Central officials,” Paswan said while addressing a press conference here.
The State Government today rolled out the MMSFES to supplement the NFSA and ensure adequate food safety under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in the State. The scheme was announced after widespread protests across the Valley over the less quantity of food grains per soul in a place where rice is the staple diet.
Under MMSFES, all those families with family size of one to six souls falling under Priority Households (PHH) and Non-Priority Households (NPHH) will get additional food-grains, over and above NFSA entitlement, at the uniform scale of five kgs per soul per ration card except for AAY families who are otherwise entitled to receive 35 kgs ration per family irrespective of the family size.
Paswan said the Centre was doing what it could to help the State under the NFSA and would take a decision soon to help the State outside the purview of the NFSA.
“We will take a decision on that. Whatever needs to be done according to the NFSA, we are doing that. But if we have to do something outside the purview of the Act, the decision on that will be taken,” the Union Minister said. He said all the demands of the State would be up for discussion in that meeting.
Paswan said his Ministry has accepted the demand of the State for providing ration for three months in advance. “There are some issues in three districts of the State, otherwise I have asked the department to start the process of providing the ration for three months in advance,” Paswan said.
The Minister said there is a target of covering a population of 82 crore under NFSA throughout the country. “It has been implemented across the country in all states except Tamil Nadu and Kerala. We have a target of covering a population of 82 crore under the Act. So far, we have covered 71 crores and rest will be covered soon,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile to decongest the city, State Government has decided to relocate the go-downs of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution CAPD) Department from highly congested Shaheed Gunj area in the civil lines.
The issue was raised by the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti with the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan who called on the former at her official residence here this afternoon.
Minister for CA&PD, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali and Minister of State for CA&PD, Ajay Nanda were also present at the meeting.
Mehbooba sought Union Ministry’s technical and financial assistance for relocating these go-downs to the outskirts of Srinagar to decongest the core area.
“We have almost all our important hospitals and other critical infrastructure in the vicinity of these go-downs and movement of trucks to and from these go-downs causes massive inconvenience to the commuters,” she said and added the Government has decided to shift these go-downs to the city peripheries to decongest the city.
The Chief Minister said around 100 kanals of land which would be available in Shaheed Gunj area due to relocation of FCI go-downs can be used to create recreational and parking facilities for the people.
It was decided in the meeting that till a permanent site is identified for relocating the FCI go-downs from Shaheed Gunj area, the Corporation can for the time being shift the storage facility to Lethpora, where enough space is available.
The Union Minister asked the Deputy General Manager, FCI to personally visit the Shaheed Gunj storage facility on Monday and ensure the shifting of these storage facilities to outside the city at the earliest.
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