Include millets in PDS, other welfare schemes: Parl panel

New Delhi: In a move aimed at encouraging the people to consume millets, the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (2022-2023), which is led by BJP MP Locket Chatterjee, has suggested the government to include millets along with wheat and rice for the distribution to the beneficiaries of different government schemes under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

However, the parliamentary panel, which submitted its report in Parliament on Tuesday, has suggested that the beneficiaries of different schemes should be given option to bundle millets along with wheat and rice within their entitled quantity.

The committee observed that the states are allowed to procure millets such as jowar, bajra, maize and ragi, etc from farmers at MSP under central pool and the procured quantity should be distributed under targeted public distribution system) or other welfare schemes in the state/UT.

The Committee has further recommended encouraging production and procurement of millets in all the states specially the states having significant tribal population such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh etc, and asked the government to provide all possible aid/assistance/bonus to farmers opting to grow millets.

The Committee has further recommended extending various services other than food grain distribution such as financial services, Aadhar/PAN card registration, etc to all Fair Price Shops (FPS) in a time bound manner to make FPS economically viable.

Further, the committee also suggested the government explore the possibility of offering incentives, may be non-financial ones, to the states to complete the project without any delay.

It further noted that a large number of utilization certificates (UCs) are pending from various state governments in respect of various schemes of the department.

Highlighting the lackadaisical approach of Food Corporation of India (FCI), the committee noted that during the year 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, FCI could not achieve physical target of construction of godowns in north eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Jharkhand.

“During the financial year 2022-23, the target set for north eastern states was 10,020 MT, but its achievement was only 6400 MT (till December 2022). Financial target set during the year 2022-23 was Rs 60 crore, but achievement was only Rs 20.52 crore,” the panel stated in its report.

“Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, the physical target set during the fiscal year 2022-23 was 6,620 MT, but achievement was only 2,240 MT (till December 2022). The progress in achievements of the targets in NE states and Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, etc till the end of the third quarter of the financial year shows that it is unlikely that the ministry will be able to achieve the set targets for the year 2022-23,” it said.