Pushing back NFSA
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 27, 2014 -

Citing delay in their efforts to roll it out by many States and Union Territories, implementation of the landmark National Food Security Act (NFSA) pushed through last year by previous Congress-led UPA Government has been pushed back by another three months following a decision taken during a high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

The food security law, which mandates legal entitlement to highly subsidised foodgrains to two-thirds of the country’s 1.2 billion people, came into into force on July 5, 2013. Under the law, each eligible person is supposed to get 5 kg of of rice and wheat at Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg respectively.

The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, poorest of the poor, are also to continue receiving 35 kg of foodgrains per family a month under this Act.

As per its provisions, the State Governments as well as the administration of the Union Territories were to implement the Food Security Act within 365 days of its enforcement, that is, by July 4, 2014.

However, as twenty States including Manipur and five Union Territories have been behind schedule in rolling it, the decision to extend the deadline for implementation of the Act by another 3 months has been taken. Till date, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra are said to be States which have fully implemented the Act while while Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have done it partially.

Of course, unlike these bigger and more developed States where National Food Security Act has been already rolled out, fully or partially, there are various issues and concerns that need to be addressed and put in order first before thinking of even implementing Act in the remaining States and Union Territories, whose delay in the effort has only led to pushing back the deadline for another three months.

If we can’t comment on other States and Union Territories, we still remember how our honourable Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Moirangthem Okendro had made an emphatic statement during the conference of Food Ministers and Food Secretaries of States and Union Territories on October 1, 2013 at New Delhi wherein he urged for support from the Central Government with regard to meeting the infrastructural and manpower requirements so that the implementation of the historic Act could be a real game changer for a food–deficient State like Manipur and be a harbinger of food security through an effective mechanism for the people of the people.

After this, there was lot of buzz on how the State Government was making every possible effort to implement the Act in time in accordance to the instruction given Madam Sonia Gandhi from Delhi well ahead of the 16th Lok Sabha elections.

With the election over and the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre ousted from power, it is so sad to learn that now the State Government has to take order for putting its acts together for implementation of the Act from a Government led by BJP, which had denounced the eagerness of the Congress to push for clearance of the Food Security Act so hastily even through the route of an ordinance.