SRINAGAR: Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali on Monday said that with implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) providing food has become a right for the people.
The Minister said this during a discussion on “Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution System (Consumer Protection and NFSA) in Upper House.”
Zulfkar Ali said that with the implementation of the Act the Government has to provide food to its citizens and if it fails to do so it has to provide allowance to them. He said after introduction of NFSA an even distribution mechanism has been set up in the State.
Providing the details, the minister said that under NFSA people will get rice as per their family size where each individual is entitled to get five kgs. He added from July 1, 2016 the government would start Mufti Mohammad Syed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMSFES) to supplement NFSA. He added that procurement done under the scheme would put an extra burden of Rs 358 crore on the State’s exchequer per annum.
The minister said to make the system more transparent, CA&PD has put the information of 1, 19, 42,000 souls on its web portal. Besides, so far more than eight lakh new ration cards have been distributed across the State, while the rest would be distributed by the end of June, he said.
Zulfkar said that GPS trackers and Point of Sales (PoS) machines with technologies like finger prints and smart card would be installed on CA&PD depots soon to make them more accountable and transparent. Besides, he also informed that 2700 new ration depots would be established across the State.