Phased rollout of food security scheme likely

Worried over rising food prices hitting the common man, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government may roll out its flagship food security programme for an extended below poverty line (BPL) list.

As it prepares to table the Food Security Bill in Parliament during the coming Budget session, the government may go by the BPL list prepared by the states that comprises around 100 million families.

The list prepared by the Planning Commission on the basis of the 1993 census pegs the number of BPL families at 65.6 million, and is often slammed by the states for its inaccuracies.

The food security scheme — providing 25 kg of rice/wheat at Rs 3 to BPL families — will be implemented in a phased manner, starting with select districts and then, over a period of time, all over the country. The selection of districts will be done on the basis of socio-economic criteria like employment, irrigation facilities, population of SC/ST, etc. “As we did in the case of NREGA (now renamed as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), the Food Security Act will also follow the same pattern,” said a senior official in the agriculture ministry. The top Congress brass held two key back-to-back meetings on Friday and Saturday to discuss the Food Security Bill. Last Friday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi — the main force behind this legislation — held discussions, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convened another meeting a day later to look into the major impediments.

Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and Minister of State for Agriculture and Food K V Thomas had regularly been in touch with Gandhi and Singh over this issue during the past few weeks.

A Congress minister said: “Sonia Gandhi is determined to bring this Bill as soon as possible. She has asked us to iron out the problems and told us that the Bill has to come. The Prime Minister, too, wants to see the key poll pledge of the party sees the light of the day.”

The government is already providing subsidised rice and wheat through the public distribution system (PDS). For the new scheme, it will have to give an additional subsidy of Rs 8/9 for every kg of grain. The scheme, when implemented fully, will require funds to the tune of Rs 24,000 to Rs 27,000 crore a year for 100 million-odd families.

Some states like Bihar have asked for fund (the additional subsidy) transfer to the states for distributing to the beneficiaries, but the government will not adopt this path.

“We know very well that money doesn’t reach the poor people. It will allow corrupt officials make money,” said a minister involved in this process.

While the finance minister is likely to make some provisions for the Food Security Bill in his coming General Budget (to be presented on Friday), the government faces three major problems.

Existing schemes
The Centre’s Antyodaya Anna Yojana already provides subsidised 35 kg foodgrains at Rs 2 per kg. How will the new scheme, to provide 25 kgs at Rs 3 per kg, fit into this existing scheme that is more beneficial? Further, states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh provides food grains at Re 1 per kg for its BPL population. How can they be asked to raise the bar? “Tamil Nadu is going for election next year and the Andhra Pradesh government is in a political crisis. The Centre will find it very difficult to implement the new scheme in these states,” said a senior official of the food and agriculture ministry.

Supply of food grain
In seasons of normal or bumper harvest there won’t be any problem with the supply of food grains (estimated at 3,000 kg). But how will the government tackle a season of drought or flood? “In 2009, there was a worldwide crisis of sugar. Prices went up. How will we ensure the supply and how to manage the inflated subsidy bill?” asks the senior official.

Role of the states
Will the states agree for the transportation and handling costs of grains under this scheme as laid down in the proposed Act? Also, PDS is under the control of states. So, how to ensure all beneficiaries get proper supply? The draft Bill, however, has some penalty provisions in case states fail to supply properly.