Odisha Govt to take data from IT deptt on FSA beneficiaries

The Odisha government today said it will take help of the Income Tax department to exclude families not eligible to get benefits from the food security provisions after it decided to implement the Food Security Act by October 1 this year.
This was decided at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who reviewed the preparedness for implementation of the FSA in the state.
The meeting also resolved to appoint a State Food Commission as per the provision of the FSA.
"The Chief Minister has directed the department to ensure that deserving families are not left out from the FSA benefits and exclude those not eligible for this," said state food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Dasburma.

While seeking an action plan on how to exclude the ineligible families, Patnaik wanted to know about the best practices of other states, departmental officials said adding, the Chief Minister also told the department to take suggestions from district collectors, while excluding certain families.
The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to contact the income tax authorities and get necessary data for exclusion of ineligible families, they said.

Replying to a question, Dasburma said the digitalisation of families in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area and Bhubaneswar block jurisdiction have been completed.
"As we will be providing the ration cards after a gap of 22 years, the department is taking steps to make it scientific and foolproof," the minister said.

This apart, Dasburma said the department was planning new grievance redressal mechanism to address the beneficiaries of the FSA.