HC notice to Guj govt over Food Security Act implementation

The Gujarat High Court today issued notices to the state government and the Director of Food and Civil Supply on a public interest litigation alleging non-implementation of the National Food Security Act.
The bench of acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice V M Pancholi posted the matter for further hearing on February 17 after issuing notices.
Advocate K R Koshti, the petitioner and Ahmedabad district convener of 'Swaraj Abhiyan', claims that 3.82 crore eligible citizens of Gujarat are being deprived of the 'right to food' guaranteed by the 2013 Act.
While 25 states have already rolled out the Act, Gujarat has failed to implement it and "thereby failed in its obligations under Right to Food to 258 lakh rural and 124 lakh urban population", the PIL says.

Under section 8 of the Act, government is bound to pay food security allowance till the time it does not implement the Act, which Gujarat government is not doing, it says.
The court should direct the state government to pay the allowance to 3.82 crore eligible citizens with effect from September 2013 till January 2016, it says.