Even as the government fine tunes its food security related mechanisms, states have started raising red flags on the implementation. Food minister KV Thomas today met his state colleagues and urged them to gear up for implementing the Food Security Act by sprucing up the public distribution channels. CNBC-TV18's Rituparna Bhuyan reports.
About 40 days after the Food Security Act was passed by Parliament, food minister K V Thomas went in to a huddle with state food ministers to ensure that the crucial social sector legislation is up and running. But the message that he got from his state colleagues was that the Centre will have to commit more financial resources to ensure smooth running.
Shyam Rajak, Food Minister, Bihar says: "We need Rs 8,000 crore for computerisation of PDS. We want the Central Government to help. Centre has proposed to share the expenditure in 50:50 ratio. But we are a poor state." Also Read: Ruchir Sharma analyses India's centre-states equation
Rajendra Choudhary, Food Minister, Uttar Pradesh says: "How will the state governments bear the burden of additional expenditure? The Central Government has passed this Act in haste and for political reasons, and hence the Centre should take care of the additional expenditure."
But Thomas is clear that half of the states will be able to roll out the provisions of the act by the year end.
"What I could understand is that at least 50 percent of the states are ready by the end of December," KV Thomas says.
One of the biggest concerns of the states is regarding transportation cost of subsidized grains.
Sudhir Kumar, Food Secretary says: "If the states go by the rate at which they are spending so far, total cost will be about Rs 10,000 crore...which will have to be decided on how much cost has to be shared
A panel of state ministers, headed by Thomas, will now work out the mechanism for coordinating on issues related to the Food Security Act. States have been asked to ensure that the door step delivery mechanism of grains gets implemented without further delay.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
