Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Food Security Act to place curbs on States

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The proposed National Food Security Act will result in States losing the elasticity that they have enjoyed so far in the management of the public distribution system (PDS).

Under the proposed law, the Central government will have the final say in the actual number of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families eligible for food grains at subsidised rates under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

It will also retain penal powers to ensure that there is no violation of its stipulations regarding the number of BPL families.

State governments will be legally obliged to annually review and update lists of BPL ration cards, the assumption being that in each State and Union Territory, at least some of the BPL families will cross the poverty line every yearand that the number of BPL ration cards should reflect such changes.

The law will take the Above Poverty Line (APL) families out of the food security cover. Coarse grains such as bajra, ragi, etc., will be distributed compulsorily under the TPDS to the States.

Under the proposed law, the responsibility of distributing the entitled quantity of food grains to eligible families/individuals will be with the State/Union Territory governments. In case, a State/Union Territory government is unable to do so, such families/individuals will be eligible for Food Security Allowance. The allowance must be paid by the State/Union Territory government concerned. Each State/Union Territory will have to set up a dedicated Food Security Fund for the purpose.

While the manoeuvrability of State/Union Territory governments will diminish as a result of the proposed law, the local self-government institutions will have a greater role in the management of the PDS.

With this end in view, the law seeks to make it mandatory for the panchayati raj institutions and the urban local bodies to conduct social audit of the Targeted Public Distribution System.

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