J-K suffers more than 20 pc shortfall in food grains: Govt

Jammu and Kashmir is suffering from more than 20 per cent shortfall in the food grains.
Replying to a question of NC legislator Shenaz Ganai in the Legislative Council here today, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Choudhary Ramzan said that the State requires 79,567 MTs of food grains per month, at the scale of 35 kg per family, as per the 2011 Census, but it was getting only 63,067 MTs of food grains.
Ramzan said that the allocation was still made as per the 2000-01 Census, adding that the issue of enhancement of the quota has been taken up by his government with the Centre to cover the left out population.

As per the current allocation there is a shortfall of 16500 MTs of food grains, which constitutes over 20 per cent of the shortfall, in the state.
Ramzan, however, said that the central government, apart from the regular quota, was providing some additional food grains for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, Kashmiri Migrants and some other sections of the state.
Meanwhile, Ganai suggested that the State Government should pitch for allocation of food grains on the pro-rata basis, so that the numbers which are being added to the population every year are taken care of.

Replying to another question, Ramzan said that more than 1,000 posts were vacant in the CA&PD departments in the State.

There are 1,038 posts under Gazetted, Non-Gazetted and Class IV categories which are lying vacant in Legal Metrology and CA&PD departments in the State, the minister said.
He added that out of these, 66 posts of Gazetted and Non-Gazetted have been filled up through PSC, SSRB and promotion quota, while 38 posts of class IV have been filled under SRO 43.