Amid the debate on food security bill in Parliament, the state has started its survey to identify the beneficiaries. Though the screening process has been initiated from August 20, no deadline has been indicated for actual implementation of the scheme in the state.
On August 14, the state government’s food and civil supplies department had given an advertisement stating who can apply for the food security ordinance as beneficiary and who is not eligible by citing various criterion. But the officials refused to mention a date on which the screening process will be completed.
However, officials claimed that government is already providing wheat at Rs 1 per kg to 40 lakh BPL families in the state. “We are far ahead of Delhi government in food security of people of BPL category as we have already been giving Rs 1 per kg wheat to the 40 lakh families in the state. For the second phase in order to add more beneficiaries, the survey work has already been started,” said CK Mathew, chief secretary.
One of the reasons the government is trying to push the launch date is to ensure that their own food security scheme remains highlighted till election. “The state has been running its own food security scheme. Any Centrally-run scheme will take away the sheen of the state-initiated project. Also the state government will have to get away with word ‘Mukhya Mantri’ for any Centrally-sponsored scheme,” a senior Congress leader said.
For the second phase, the survey work to implement the law was yet to be started. In Rajasthan, 4.84 crore people are likely to be directly benefited from the proposed national food security Act, 2013. Out of this, the Act will cater to almost 3.96 crore people in rural Rajasthan and 92.29 lakh population in urban areas.
src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Govt-begins-survey-to-identify-beneficiaries-of-food-security-scheme/articleshow/22084437.cms