Assam to roll out food security scheme from November 19

The Congress-ruled Assam government will roll out the UPA government's ambitious Food Security Scheme on November 19, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, said Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi here today.

Gogoi said around 2.25 crore people from around 40 lakh families will benefit from the scheme.

Terming the Food Security scheme as a "dream of top leadership, including Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi", Gogoi said the scheme would help battle malnutrition and hunger in Assam. "One should not oppose the scheme for opposition's sake. One has to understand the pangs of hunger to realise how important the scheme is for the poor segments of the society," he said.

He added: "Our governments at the state and at the Centre are more concerned about the poor and have taken up different schemes for their welfare."

Around 84.17 per cent of population from the rural areas and 60.35 per cent from the urban areas would be benefited by this scheme in Assam. Altogether, the total number of beneficiaries in Assam would stand at 2,52,18,000.

Assam would face no difficulty in preparing the list of beneficiaries as the state presently has around 7.04 lakh beneficiary families under Antodoya scheme, 20 lakh beneficiary families under Chief Minister's Anna Yojona and over 12 lakh BPL families. "All these families together form about 40 lakh families who are likely to benefit from the Food Security Scheme," said Assam's food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam.

The Assam government, according to Gogoi, will have no difficulty either in implementing the scheme "because of self-sufficiency on the food front".