Inching closer to the implementation of the National Food Security Act in the state, the Odisha government has given its nod to the eight exclusion criteria considered as the important factors for identification of beneficiaries.
The eight exclusion criteria covers monthly income, income tax payee, persons having four wheelers or two three wheelers, business with TIN (tax payer identification numer), electric consumption above 300 units, any state government or central government employee, persons having tractors, power-tillers, fishing boats or other heavy vehicles, persons having entrepreneurship and professional tax payees.
Based on the criteria, the government has decided to delete all bogus ration card holders and APLs (above poverty line) counted as BPLs (below poverty line) due to erroneous registrations to facilitate streamlining of the process for implementation of the Act in the state.
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The eight exclusion criteria have been fixed on the basis of socio-economic status schedule prepared by panchayati raj department. The exclusion will have simultaneous effect of automatic inclusion of persons like beggars, destitute, pension holder widows, particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PTGs) and persons having disabilities of 40 per cent or above. In urban areas, beggars, rag-pickers, domestic workers, street vendors, construction workers, home-based workers and rickshaw pullers among others will be included in the process. The final beneficiary list will be prepared through mapping with the National Population Register and applying the eight exclusion criteria. The Naveen Patnaik led government had recently faced heat in the assembly from the Opposition Congress over delay in implementation of the National Food Security Act in the state.
Raising the issue during the zero hour on last Friday, Leader of Opposition Narsingha Mishra had said, "Though there is a provision under the law that the Act passed in the Parliament need to be implemented in states within one year, the same has not been done within the stipulated time."
Three-fourths of the state's population have been denied its Right to Food due to non-implementation of the Act in the stipulated time frame, he rued. The state government has nothing to lose since the central government will supply foodgrains to be distributed among the poor and deserving people, Mishra added. The government clarified that delay in implementation of the Act was due to the general elections and the provision of deletion of the beneficiaries. Accordingly, the government had requested the Centre to extend the time-limit.
