Meghalaya to set up special commision for Food Security Scheme

Meghalaya government is constituting a special commission to oversee the smooth implementation of the flagship Food Security scheme of the central government, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said today.

"We will soon notify the state Food Security Commission whose mandate is to oversee the smooth implementation of the scheme in the state," Mukul told PTI at the sideline of an international science seminar here.

He said the commission will decide on the mode and how the scheme is to be implemented in the state as per the guidelines of the Food Security Ordinance which got the President's nod recently.

Under the scheme, over two million people in Meghalaya are set to benefit from the scheme directly including over two lakh BPL households, a senior government official said.

As per the scheme, rice will be available at Rs 3 per kg, while wheat and coarse cereals will be offered at Rs 2 and Rs 1 respectively for each kg, he added. The Centre had, in earlier this month, decided to issue an ordinance to give two-third population of the country the right to get 5 kg of food grain every month at subsidised rates of Rs 1-3 per kg.

The food security programme when implemented will be the biggest in the world with the government spending estimated at Rs 1,25,000 crore annually on supply of about 62 million tonnes of rice, wheat and coarse cereals to 67 per cent of the population.