Parl panel pulls up govt for delay in implementing food law

A Parliamentary panel on Monday pulled up the Centre for <g data-gr-id="23">delay</g> in rolling out the National Food Security Act across the country and asked it to make all out efforts to implement the law expeditiously.

The NFSA was passed by Parliament in September 2013 when the UPA was in power. The deadline for implementing the same has been extended thrice. At present, 13 states and Union Territories have implemented the Act, some of them fully and others partially.

“The Committee also note with dismay that timeline for implementation of NFSA...has been extended twice. The committee also are constrained to find that yet another extension up to September 2015 has been given to states/UTs,” the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System said in its report.

Placed before the Lok Sabha on Monday, the report details the action taken by the government on the recommendations given by the panel in its earlier report on Demands of Grants for 2014-15. The panel recommended that “all out efforts be made by the Department of Food and Public Distribution as also by states/UTs to accomplish the compliance of NFSA expeditiously.”

While expressing concern about <g data-gr-id="27">delay</g> in preparedness for implementing the food law across non-compliant states, the panel had earlier suggested to the department to set up a task force for completion of the work. The food law aims to provide legal entitlement of 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains per person per month at Rs 1-3/kg to two-thirds of the country’s population. At present, the Centre is allocating foodgrains to 13 states/UTs as per the new food law while the rest are getting foodgrain quota according to earlier PDS guidelines.