Mizoram would implement the National Food Security Act, 2013 from October this year, state Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs minister John Rotluangliana said in the assembly today.
Rotluangliana, after laying the Mizoram Food Security Rules, 2015 and the Guidelines for Selection of Beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, 2013, text in the legislature said that the Food Security Scheme was imposed on the state by the Centre.
He said that only 7.06 lakh people of more than 15 lakh population would be covered by the Food security scheme, which included around 1.36 lakh people under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme.
As determined by the Centre, 81.88 per cent of the people living in the rural areas (4.33 lakh) and 48.60 per cent of people residing in the urban areas (2.73 lakh) would be covered by the scheme, he said.
Those AAY families would receive 35 kilos of rice per family per month while around 5.7 lakh people would be entitled to receive five kg of food at the rate of Rs three per kilo in a month under the scheme, he said.
He, however, added that eight kilos per adult per month, as being distributed by the state government was insufficient. The state government, therefore, decided to add another three kg to those who were entitled under the food scurity scheme making the ration at eight kilos a month for those covered under the scheme.
The minister said that for those 5,03,704 people left out by the scheme, the state government would make arrangement to give eight kilos of rice per month at the rate of Rs. 15 per kilo.
