'Coverage under proposed food Bill unacceptable'

State governments are raising objections about the coverage under the proposed Food Security Bill, saying that covering 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of urban as advocated by both the draft Bill and the Standing Committee of Parliament is unacceptable.

“The Centre is saying that the proposed food Bill will ensure food for all. But in reality, this is not the case,” West Bengal Food Minister Jyotipriya Mullick said.

He said the Centre should instead cover all sections of the population under the Bill and there should not be any provision for cash transfers under the Bill.

Mullick and representatives from 19 states and Union territories were in the capital for a two-day consultation to evolve a consensus on recommendations of the parliamentary panel that suggested drastic changes in the proposed food Bill, which aims to give legal rights over subsidised foodgrains to two-thirds of the population.

Punjab said states should have the power to determine the number of people who would fall under the purview of the Bill. Tamil Nadu sought complete exemption from implementation of the Bill, saying it lacked clarity, while Bihar, Odisha, Kerala and Gujarat suggested the Centre first modernise the Public Distribution System (PDS) before rushing to implement it.

Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh pitched for a universal PDS, whereas Odisha, Kerala and Bihar, among others, said the foodgrain quantity of five kg per person per month suggested by the parliamentary panel was not sufficient and sought more.

Even some Congress-ruled states such as Haryana and Kerala are opposed to some provisions of the Bill.

"We have sought that the Centre should bear 100 per cent of the infrastructure cost, which includes expenses to be incurred on procurement and distribution of foograin for the purpose of the Food Security Bill," a senior official of Haryana’s food and supplies department said today.

Chhattisgarh CM’s plea to PM

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to pre- judge the number of people who would be excluded from the Food Security Bill.

“In my view, prescription of an exclusion criteria and that of exclusion limits (in terms of percentages of population) are counteractive to each other. It would be more appropriate to only specify clear and verifiable exclusion criteria and to not specify an exclusion limit,'' said Singh.

Many states also opposed cash transfer of subsidy saying it could not be a substitute for foodgrains.

At the beginning of the consultation meeting, Union Food Minister K V Thomas had said that the Centre plans to introduce the Bill in the coming Budget session of Parliament and the consultation process was the last chance for states to air their views before the revised Bill is tabled in Parliament.

"Except Tamil Nadu, all states have welcomed the Bill. Some have expressed reservations on certain provisions. We cannot satisfy all states. We intend to present the revised Bill in the forthcoming session of Parliament," Thomas said.

Meanwhile, reports said Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh gvernments expressed reservations over the proposed form of the draft bill.