The State government has not yet taken a serious call on implementing the National Food Security Act and the action plan mooted by the Centre as a measure to arrest inflation within a specific timeframe.
Sources at the Food and Civil Supplies Department told The Hindu that no meaningful steps have been initiated so far to allay public apprehension about the possibility of at least 14 lakh families being excluded from the targeted public distribution system (PDS) on enforcing the Act. Right from the setting up of warehouses to store foodgrain, an end-to-end computerised network linking depots to retail vendors to monitor foodgrain movement and fast-track courts to crack down on hoarders, the State government has quite a number of tasks to be completed. But for making a commitment on issuing new priority and non-priority ration cards, instead of BPL and APL cards, from July, the department has not made any significant moves in this regard.
The disparity over the poverty estimates prepared by the Planning Commission and those drawn up by the State government will have to be ironed out. If the Centre decides to go by its own estimates, a large number of families would have to opt out of TPDS, sources say.
The Act mandates the constitution of a State Food Security Mission and district-level grievance redressal mechanism. The proposed mission, with an advisory role, is expected to periodically review the enforcement of the Act. For expeditious disposal of complaints on distribution of entitlements, appointment of district grievance redressal officers has been mooted. Such aspects will have to be worked out.
