 "Government to offer customized food bags under food security act")
With an eye on the 2014 General Elections, the ruling UPA government is expected to distribute foodgrains in custom-made bags of 5 kilograms each under the ambitious National Food Security Act (NFSA) from Andhra Pradesh in the next few weeks.
The bags, which have been specifically ordered to handle grains is may also have pictures of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh imbibed on them to ensure that no state government claims credit for the programme.
According to senior official, no decision yet has been taken in remaining the scheme after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Opposition parties like BJP have strongly opposed any move to rename the scheme after the former Prime Minister.
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As of now, the official said that custom-made bags will contain the pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and will also full details of the programme imprinted in it.
“The bags will carry details on the programme and also other specifics,” a senior official explained.He said a decision to start distributing foodgrains under the NFSA in custom made bags of 5 kilograms each from Andhra Pradesh was taken after a discussion with the state food and civil supplies minister.
The pilot to distribute grains in custom-made bags in other states where the scheme has been launched namely Delhi and Rajasthan has been deferred because of the model code of conduct in place.
“Andhra Pradesh is the most suitable to distribute foodgrains through this manner under the NFSA as the state primarily consumes rice which is locally procured and milled, in other states, foodgrains be it wheat or rice is transported from other producing states usually in much larger bags and hence will be difficult to repackage them,” the official said. He said if successful, then the experiment can be replicated in other parts of the country.
The state is also politically crucial for Congress as it gave the largest number of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the current Lok Sabha. However, the party's position in the state has become shaky following its decision to carve out Telangana from it.
The food bill which was cleared in monsoon session of Parliament seeks to provide legal entitlement for cheap grains to over 80 crore Indian citizens.
As part of the scheme, 5 kilograms of wheat or rice or coarse cereals will be provide to every identified beneficiary per month at a highly subsidized rate of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse cereals.
Largely Congress-ruled states like Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka have either expressed their intention or already started implementing the scheme, but most opposition ruled states have yet not implemented the programme.
The central government is expected to incur an expenditure of around Rs 130,000 crore per year on account of the cheap grain distribution programme. All states have to necessarily implement the programme within one-year of it getting becoming a law which was in September.