New Delhi: Amid talk of an ordinance on the Food Security Bill, the Law Ministry has warned that without putting a proper mechanism in place to distribute foodgrains, a law should not be implemented.
The Law Ministry has told the Food Ministry during inter-ministerial consultations that without the list of intended beneficiaries with state governments in place, an ordinance should not be promulgated as it would make the proposed law meaningless.
It also said that a system of redressal mechanism should be ready before the ordinance – which will be the law of the land till replaced by an Act of Parliament – is promulgated, sources said.
Another strong view against the proposed ordinance is that legal rights to a citizen cannot be guaranteed through an executive order and it can be provided only by Parliament through an Act.
The Law Ministry is of the opinion that the ordinance would be catering to a future development when the system is in place at state and district levels.
Without a mechanism ready for distribution of foodgrains, the Food Ministry has failed to show any “urgency” in promulgation of the proposed ordinance, the sources said.
The move from within the government to take the ordinance route followed its two unsuccessful attempts to get the food bill passed during the second half of the budget session which came to an abrupt end on May 8.
The bill, which aims to give about two-third of Indian population, or over 800 million people, a legal right to cheap food, is being keenly pushed by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Though some key ministers are understood to be in favour of promulgating an ordinance for the implementation of food security, which will immediately come into existence and will require to be ratified during the monsoon session of Parliament, the law ministry has a different take.
In negotiations with the food ministry, the officials from the government’s legal arm have pointed out that given the lack of preparedness in majority of states, the ordinance would be “meaningless”.
Sources in the law ministry said the latest data about the number of families which would qualify to benefit from this scheme, and grievance redressal forums at district and state levels were a pre-condition for the ordinance to be promulgated. (Agencies)