Mizoram to implement food security act from March 1

The northeastern state of Mizoram will implement the National Food Security Act 2013 from March 1, a minister said here on Friday.

"Necessary arrangements have been made for making available subsidised rice to the priority group people through public distribution system from March 1 under the food security act," Mizoram's Food Minister John Rotluangliana said.

The central act provides for coverage of up to 75 percent of the rural population and up to 50 percent of the urban population for receiving subsidised food grain under targeted public distribution system, thus covering about two-thirds of the population.

Rotluangliana said that 706,296 people out of the total population of about 11 lakh would be provided rice at subsidised rate under the act while the remaining households could buy eight kg rice per month at Rs.15 per kg.

"According to the provisions of the act, majority of people living in rural areas and around 50 percent households of urban areas in Mizoram would be benefited," said the minister.

At least 9,814 tonnes of rice would be required every month to meet the needs of the beneficiaries of the act and other households, he said.

The Left Front government in Tripura was the first in the northeast to implement the act from September 1 last year. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim started to implement the Act in December last year. Meghalaya introduced it this month.

Two other northeastern states - Manipur and Nagaland - have made preparations to implement the act.

The deadline to implement the act has been extended several times. Now the central government has asked all states to implement it by April.

To implement the act, the entire targeted public distribution system has to be computerised and the ration card records digitised.