: In a move seemingly aimed at making Tamil Nadu fall in line with other States and adhere to the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre has hiked, almost three-fold, the price of rice meant for distribution to those above poverty line (APL).
This means that the State government would have to shell out about Rs. 2,100 crore additionally in a year if it were to stick to its decision of not implementing the NFSA.
As a matter of policy, the State provides free rice to around 1.9 crore ration card holders. The State government’s food subsidy bill for the current year is Rs. 5,300 crore, with rice accounting for Rs. 3,458.5 crore. For the time being, there will be no impact on the beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS).
Currently, for the APL category, the State is getting around 1.26 lakh tonnes of rice a month at the rate of Rs. 8.30 per kg. The revised rate will be Rs. 22.53 per kg.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet in late September, a Central government official in the Department of Food and Public Distribution said, adding that the move has been made as Tamil Nadu is not adhering to the NFSA. Last week, the Union government sent its communication to the State government.
There are two other categories of rice-drawing ration card holders – Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Below Poverty Line (BPL). The rates for the AAY and the BPL are Rs. 3 per kg and Rs. 5.65 per kg respectively. There is no change in the rates for these two categories, the Central government official clarified.
Ever prior to the enactment of the NFSA in 2013, the State government has been expressing reservations regarding various provisions of the Act. The principal objection of the State is that only 50.55 per cent of the population will get covered under the law.
“We are for universal public distribution system. We are following the policy of food security for all. As of now, there is no change in this position,” R. Kamaraj, State Food Minister, told The Hindu on Friday evening.
No to extra allocation
Apart from increasing the price, the Centre has decided not to provide additional allocation of rice to the State. Every month, around 24,000 tonnes are being made available and the price comes to Rs. 22 per kg.
If the State were to get this quantity from the open market, the rate will be at least Rs. 30 per kg.
Also, the price of wheat for the APL category of card holders has been increased from Rs. 6.1 per kg to Rs. 15.25 per kg.
The Central government official added that only Tamil Nadu and Kerala are not following the NFSA. Recently, Kerala told the Centre that it would implement the Act soon.
