SHILLONG: While many people have complained of being given a slip in the list of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, the East Khasi Hills District Administration has said that names of beneficiaries have been selected as per the criteria of the Act.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner PS Dkhar said that beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act are the people under the BPL category and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families. He said that the process of distribution of cards is still on and the administration is yet to get a final report on it.
He further said that the District Administration has not yet received the allotment for the food grains.
As the state has launched the food security scheme of the Central government from this month by distributing ration cards to the beneficiaries, the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has taken exception to the distribution of cards to non-tribals. Besides, many people have complained that their names do not figure in the list despite them being eligible for the scheme.
The State government last week announced the launch of National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the state with effect from this month with the beneficiaries set to get 5 kg of rice and wheat per month at the rate of Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg respectively per family, while the beneficiaries under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) will get 35 kg food grains per month.
Over 75% of the people in the State will avail subsidized rice and wheat and the break up is 50.87% (3, 03,464 persons) in urban areas and 77.79% (18, 45,631) in rural areas. The food and civil supplies department has already received the allocation from the Centre.
Though the department is currently distributing the cards numbering 4, 22,040, all the districts have been asked to conduct one more hearing for claims and objections for more coverage.
