Mizoram seeking increment in Centre’s share in food security fund

The state has urged to raise the coverage from 64.73% to at least 80% of its 12 lakh population.

NEW DELHI: Mizoram has urged the Centre to raise the coverage from 64.73% to at least 80% of its 12 lakh population under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the state, an official of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department has said. According to the CSCAD official, the demand for raising the Center’s share in NFSA was raised by Mizoram’s Chief Minister Zoramthanga during a meeting with Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in Delhi on Friday. “The Chief Minister told the Union Minister that after the implementation of the NFSA in the state, the allocation of foodgrains for the beneficiaries has come down. The remaining foodgrain is procured from the open market by the state government,” the official quoted the Chief Minister as saying. The Union Minister told the Chief Minister that the National Sample Survey Organisation’s study is the basis for deciding the percentage of distribution of foodgrains and it is being uniformly applied throughout the country. As per the same CSCAD official, Paswan also said that allocation of foodgrains would be revised by the NITI Aayog based on a new NSSO Survey and it is not possible to make exceptions for Mizoram. NFSA was implemented in Mizoram in March 2016 to cover 706,296 people out of the total of 12 lakh. Currently, 662,440 people belonging to 146,876 families are covered under the scheme, according to the CSAD official. Mizoram has 267,606 ration card holders, of which 146,876 are under the NFSA. Paswan assured Zoramthanga of construction of more warehouses by the Food Corporation of India and the pending issue of the hill state transport subsidy would be resolved in a joint meeting soon, according to the official.