Tripura government to implement food security scheme

Abandoning its earlier stance, the country's lone Left Front government in Tripura Wednesday decided to implement the food security act in the north eastern state.

The state government had earlier said it could not implement the scheme because of the inadequate quantity of grains earmarked for Tripura under the central government's food security scheme.

"The central government has recently assured us not to curtail the allotment of food grains currently being supplied by the FCI (Food Corporation of India) for the PDS (Public Distribution System)," Tripura food and civil supplies minister Bhanulal Saha told reporters here Wednesday.

He said : "The Left Front government wanted universalisation of PDS, not curtailment of this decades old system. Almost all people of Tripura are now under the PDS."

The minister said as per the food security act, 74.75 percent of rural people and 49.54 percent of urban people in the state would be covered by the scheme.

"After getting assurance from the central government for supplying of required quantities of food grains, the Tripura government has decided to implement the food security scheme from January. Before that necessary administrative and groundwork would be completed," Saha stated.

Earlier, the Tripura government had raised objections against some provisions of the food security scheme.