Chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Wednesday said the previous UPA-led Central government's National Food Security Act would not be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir due to its being "not beneficial" and having a "faulty structure".
He told the upper House that he has asked the Union food ministry for streamlining the ration needs of the state on a "no-profit, no-loss" basis so that people of the state could be adequately covered under the scheme
"The Food Security Act passed by the previous UPA government will have no benefit to Jammu and Kashmir. Adequate provisions of ration in all rural and semi-urban areas, even if on a no-profit and no-loss basis, will be ensured," Mufti said while referring to the 'agenda of alliance' of the PDP-BJP coalition government.
"Providing ration to far-flung areas and its equitable distribution to all is our priority and on our top agenda," the chief minister added.
He also announced that the state government would take up on priority the issue of providing ration to the people as per the 2011 Census.
Mufti Sayeed further said the demand for import of food grains into the state has increased as the farmers prefer cultivating cash crops owing to its greater returns.
{{/usCountry}}Mufti Sayeed further said the demand for import of food grains into the state has increased as the farmers prefer cultivating cash crops owing to its greater returns.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, minister for consumer affairs and public distribution (CAPD) Choudhary Zulfikar Ali informed the House that there were approximately 4,96,873 households which include 1,95,423 from Jammu, 2,95,032 from Kashmir and 6,418 from Ladakh that were without ration cards.
He also said no fresh ration cards had been issued to any household after Census in 2001. However, he added, every ration card was revalidated every year. He was replying to a question by PDP MLC Yasir Reshi.
"As per 2001 Census, 19.72 lakh households have been issued ration cards. Presently, ration is provided at the rate of 35kg per family. There is provision of providing ration at the scale of 5kg per soul per month under the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA) which is not yet implemented in Jammu and Kashmir," the CAPD minister said.