Gujarat govt prepared to implement Food Act: Nitin Patel

A day after Supreme Court rapped it for non-implementation of National Food Security Act, Gujarat government today said it is prepared to implement the Act.
"Gujarat government is prepared to implement the Food Security Act. For this, we have already identified the eligible households as per the prescribed criterion. Under the Act, we have to publish a list in all the villages and cities to invite objections from citizens," Gujarat government spokesperson Nitin Patel said.
"Till now, this process has been completed in all the villages. Now, we will start this process in cities and towns. We will also apprise the Supreme Court about these steps in the next hearing on February 17," Patel told media persons here today.

Patel, who is also the Health Minister, said Supreme Court will be informed on the implementation front in the next hearing.
The apex court yesterday rapped Gujarat government as well as some other states for not implementing the National Food Security Act.
The court observed, "Does Gujarat want to breakaway from India? A law is passed by Parliament. Can a state say that it will not follow the law?"

"What is Parliament doing? What is Government of India doing? Is Gujarat not a part of India? The Act says it extends to whole of India and Gujarat is not implementing it," a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said.

State minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Bhupendrasinh Chudasama yesterday claimed that the state administration has planned to implement the National Food Security Act by April this year.
Meanwhile, on being asked on Union WCD minister Maneka Gandhi's suggestion made recently that sex determination test should be made compulsory, Patel said all states are governed by central laws and they cannot have a different view.
"There is a central law about sex determination and all states abide by it. Thus, as a health minister of a state, I cannot have a view of my own on this," he said.

Gandhi yesterday suggested that sex determination test should be made compulsory to track women pregnant with a girl child as a measure to check female foeticide.