2 red flags for NAC proposals on food law

The Planning Commission and food ministry have raised a red flag over implementation of the recommendations of the National Advisory Council regarding the new food security law from the next financial year, but for different reasons. Chetan Chauhan reports.

Updated on: Nov 3, 2010, 23:58:07 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Planning Commission and food ministry have raised a red flag over implementation of the recommendations of the National Advisory Council regarding the new food security law from the next financial year, but for different reasons.

The commission has cited fiscal constraints whereas the ministry has expressed inability to procure adequate foodgrains according to the NAC wish.

The plan panel believes that implementing the food security law in the scale recommended by NAC may not be possible as it would require an additional food subsidy of Rs 32,000 — almost a 50% increase in the budget. The panel expects the plan budget for 2011-12 to increase by about 15 per cent from the existing Rs 3,74,000 crore.

NAC, headed by Sonia Gandhi, wanted the government to implement the first phase from April 1, 2011, to cover 85% of the rural population and 40% of the urban population with an additional subsidy burden of Rs 15,000 crore for 2010-11. In the final phase, 90% of rural and 50% of urban population will be covered by 2014, costing the government an additional Rs 23,000 crore.

The panel says NAC has failed to take into account the increase in higher minimum support price and other incremental costs, a probable reason for the difference in government and NAC estimate on food subsidy of about Rs 9,000 crore.

The panel says implementing NAC recommendations would result in funds crunch for other social sector schemes, especially Right To Education for which education outlays will have to be increased substantially in the next budget.

Expanding the health mission to urban areas will also require funds. In addition, the budget for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is set to increase with the government looking at increasing wages.

The plan also believes that implementing the proposed food security law without reforming the public distribution system to plug leakages will not be a good idea. "Reforming PDS will take a minimum of one year," the functionary said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.