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National Food Security Act: 16 lakh beneficiaries in Punjab ineligible to get subsidised wheat
As against the norms of the Center, Punjab has 16 lakh more beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) scheme.
As against the norms of the Center, Punjab has 16 lakh more beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) scheme, and to streamline the numbers the state’s food and civil supplies department is conducting a door-to-door survey looking for the ineligible entries.
“Punjab has 1.57 crore beneficiaries who receive food grain (wheat) under the NFSA, however as per Centre’s norms it should be 1.41 crores; 16 lakh more means 11% extra souls in the beneficiaries’ list,” informed an officer of the food department.
The surveys necessitated after the Center fixed the state allocation under the scheme to 2.12 lakh tonne wheat against requirement (as per the current figures) of 2.36 lakh tonne imposing a cut of 24,000 tonne.
As per the Center’s norms, 46% population of a state will be covered for the benefit scheme, which means - 95 lakh population living in rural parts of the state and 47 lakh in the urban parts are to be covered for the benefit. There 40.68 lakh ration card holders under the scheme who get 5 kilograms wheat per person in the family, every month at a nominal cost of ₹ 2 per kilogram.
The Center has categorically conveyed to the state government that it would not reimburse food grain given to 16 lakh additional beneficiaries and to give them the benefit the state government had to pay from the state exchequer. The cost to supply grain to these beneficiaries annually involves ₹300 crore.
Moving a step forward the state’s food and civil supplies department has started an exercise to dig out ineligible beneficiaries and so far, 60% verification survey has been completed and 7 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have been found. Deputy commissioners in all the state districts have been asked to complete the verification by or before March. The surveys started last year, which now have been expedited to be completed in a time bound manner.
Once the surveys are over the state food department will roll out a fresh list of beneficiaries and then it is to be seen how many more are there against the Center’s norms, for whom the state is required to pay for their grain cost.
Apart from other ineligible beneficiaries, the surveys found that 45,000 were no longer alive but their families are drawing the benefit. As per the surveys, so far, a total of 1.7 lakh ration cards also have been found ineligible, which has 6.8 lakh beneficiaries.
According to principal secretary, Food And Civil Supplies Department, Rahul Bhandari, 8% in the beneficiaries in the list have been found ineligible and very soon the government will complete the surveys so as to get a final result.
“Incase there are still more beneficiaries than the Center’s norms, the state would have to pay for that,” he added saying that the survey teams have clear instructions that no genuine beneficiary be deleted from the list. The government spends ₹100 every month on each beneficiary to give subsidised wheat.
