Those left out of NFSA will be included in state scheme: Patro

Odisha government has started the process to identify the people left out from the National Food Security Act (NFSA) so that they could be included in the state's own food security scheme.

About 25 lakh people who have been left out from the NFSA will be covered under the state's food security scheme, Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister S N Patro said today.

"The identification of the left-out beneficiaries is underway and the department will receive applications in this regard till September 4," Patro told reporters.

Odisha government's own food security scheme will come into effect from October 2 this year.

Stating that efforts are on to include about 25 lakh beneficiaries left out from the NFSA in the first phase, the minister said the scheme would later include all needy people like poor, old, disable, and others.

He, however, said if the number of the application exceeds 25 lakh, arrangements would be made for their inclusion in the states food security scheme in the later stage.

He said the aspiring beneficiaries are getting enrolled in the state scheme in different gram panchayats, municipalities, NACs and block level.

The state government will spend Rs 220 crore towards the state's own food security scheme in the next six months, from October 2018 to March 2019.