The Centre has given another six months to the States for rolling out the >National Food Security Act (NFSA), Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday. The deadline, which has already been extended twice, was to end on Saturday.
Only 11 States and Union Territories have so far implemented the Act which was passed by Parliament in September 2013.
“The Central government has given further six months’ time to the States to implement the NFSA,” Mr. Paswan told reporters here. The deadline had been extended for the third time so that the remaining States could adopt and implement the law within six months, the Minister added.
The law aims at providing a legal entitlement to 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains a person per month at Rs 1-3 a kg to two-thirds of the country’s population.
The Centre had warned the States that it would stop the supply of subsidised APL foodgrains if they failed to meet the April deadline.
Despite the extension of the deadline twice, only Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Chandigarh have so far implemented the Act, some fully and others partially.
To ensure proper distribution of PDS supplies, Mr. Paswan said that the Centre had decided to give a fixed cash amount of Rs 87 per quintal, to be contributed equally by the Centre and the State, to ration shop dealers. On storage, the Minister said there was sufficient godown space to store foodgrains. There would be no storage of stock beyond 18 months in FCI godowns, he said.
On the impact of crop damage due to unseasonal rains, Mr. Paswan said the Centre was reviewing the situation in the northern States. It would consider the States’ demand to simplify the norms of the National Calamity Relief Fund to accommodate every farmer whose crop has perished up to 25 per cent.
Crop loss Asked if the Centre would provide relief to farmers whose crop loss is up to 25 per cent, Mr. Paswan said there was a proposal to give relaxation on partially damaged foodgrains based on nutritive value. Procuring agencies like the FCI could asses the standards of foodgrains.
