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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Few details, huge subsidy in 3 versions of food Bill by Ravish Tiwari

Few details, huge subsidy in 3 versions of food Bill by Ravish Tiwari

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published Published on Dec 9, 2011   modified Modified on Dec 9, 2011

Over two and a half years after President Pratibha Patil announced the government’s plan to enact a food security law, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday is slated to consider three separate versions of the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) for introduction in the current session of Parliament.

These three versions arise out of differences between the Food Ministry and the Law Ministry over the issue of grievance redressal mechanism. The Legislative Department has said that the mechanism provided in the NFSB is “at variance with the established legislative practice about separation of powers between executive/regulatory functions and adjucatory functions”. The Food Ministry’s Bill allows state food commissions and central panels to hear appeals pertaining to decisions of district grievance redressal officials.

All three versions, however, are unified in seeking to legally bind the Centre to provisions that seek to hike up the food subsidy bill of the government by over 40 per cent from the current levels.

At the first count, the Food Ministry has estimated that the provisions of the NFSB would entail about Rs 94,973 crore of annual food subsidy, up from over Rs 67,310 crore in the current scenario.

At the same time, the Cabinet note containing the three drafts — two by the Law Ministry and one by Food — does not clarify a host of issues such as the resultant additional expenditure by different departments at the Centre, sharing of the expenditure with states, and the methodology for identification of beneficiaries.

It says it has “yet not quantified” the additional investments required in increasing storage capacity or for PDS reforms including computerisation, for augmenting the transportation and distribution network, and for enhancing the capacity to run allied schemes sich as maternity benefits, meals to vulenrable sections among others.

The note apprises the Cabinet that while “no other department has projected cost estimates”, the departments of Agriculture and Women and Child Development have indicated over Rs 1.45 lakh crore investment between them.

“Such expenditures should be projected in the plan/budget estimates of concerned ministries and met therefrom,” the Food Ministry note says.

The proposal reminds the Cabinet that there would about Rs 32,192 crore of annual recurring expenditure to run schemes such as meals to vulenrable sections, maternity benefits, a grievance redressal mechanism, and transportation among others.

The proposal also seeks clearance of the Cabinet demand to provide highly subsidised foodgrains to “all tribals and forest dwellers” irrespective of the eligibility criteria, making provision for “morning snack” as legal entitlement to children in the age group three-six years.

As for identification of the beneficiaries, all that the Food Ministry has submitted to the Cabinet is that a methodology will be worked out in such a manner that “will seek to ensure that no poor or deprived household will be excluded from coverage”.

The Indian Express, 10 December, 2011, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Few-details--huge-subsidy-in-3-versions-of-food-Bill/886167/


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