Centre assures support to Manipur for foodgrains for NFSA beneficiaries

The Centre assured the Manipur govt of complete support in ensuring sufficient foodgrains stock in different parts of the state and regular supplies of the entitled quantities to NFSA beneficiaries

The Centre on Wednesday assured the Manipur government of complete support in ensuring sufficient foodgrains stock in different parts of the state and regular supplies of the entitled quantities to NFSA beneficiaries.

"The estimated stock position will be sufficient to meet the requirement in the coming month. The regular inflow of stocks will be maintained to ensure that there is no scarcity of foodgrains in any part of the state," an official statement said.

Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra visited Imphal on Wednesday and reviewed the functioning of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Manipur in the wake of the recent law and order issues.

In the course of the visit, Chopra met State Food and Consumer Minister L Susindro Meitei and Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi.

According to the statement, the Centre has allocated an additional quantity of 30,000 tonne of rice in view of the current law and order situation for a period of three months -- June to August -- for non-NFSA beneficiaries to the Manipur government.

Presently, the stock position at nine depots is 30,600 tonne, which is adequate against the total monthly allocation of 12,000 tonne under the NFSA and 6,500 tonne under non-NFSA.

Besides, the Centre is exploring additional routes to ensure a smooth and seamless supply of foodgrains through various routes like from Dimapur, Silchar and Bairabi to Manipur and inducting a total of 25,500 tonne of rice in the state by the end of the current month, it added.

Under the NFSA, the entitlement of foodgrains per person per month is 5 kg for the priority households category, while 35 kg per family per month for Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families.