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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sonia’s dream Food Security Bill out on the internet by Iftikhar Gilani

Sonia’s dream Food Security Bill out on the internet by Iftikhar Gilani

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published Published on Sep 17, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 17, 2011

The draft of National Food Security Bill has been uploaded on the internet. Congress President Sonia Gandhi's illness had derailed the grand launch of her dream project during the Parliament's monsoon session. The draft appears on the website of the Department of Food and Public Distribution, inviting the public for its comments and suggestions by September end.

Gandhi is believed to have pulled up Food Minister KV Thomas for not tabling the Bill supposed to be the flagship programme of the UPA-II Government, leading to the hurried release of the draft and leaving rather little time for the public to comment.

The 27-page-long draft Bill placed on the website steers clear of defining who live below poverty line (BPL) terming them—'priority households'—and guarantees subsidised foodgrain to them as well as to other poor families classified as 'general households.'

It seeks to empower the Centre to issue guidelines from time to time defining the priority households and those who are excluded from the category, with a proviso that those in the exclusion criteria cannot have the facility extended to it by state governments.

The draft also envisages cash transfer or food coupons to these two sections in lieu of their foodgrain entitlements, which are fixed at 7 kg per head per month for the priority households and 3 kg per head per month for the general households.

The rates proposed are Rs 3, Rs 2 and Re1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains respectively in case of the priority households and at 50 per cent of the minimum support price in case of others.

The draft Bill promises to provide subsidised foodgrains to 75 per cent of the rural population, 46 per cent of which will be the priority households, and 50 per cent of the urban population, including 28 per cent in the priority category, through the targeted public distribution system (TPDS).

It envisages that the eldest woman in the family will be the head of the household and the ration card will be issued in her name except for cases where no female of more than 18 years is present in the family.

Although the Bill is supposed to ensure the food security to the people, the draft goes on to promise even other things like access to safe drinking water, health care and adequate pension to senior citizens, disabled and single women.

A three-tier grievance redressal mechanism for transparency and accountability and legal right to women, children, destitute, homeless and persons living in starvation are some other key features of the draft Bill.

Tehelka, 15 September, 2011, http://tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws150911politics_II.asp


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