Imphal: The number of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Manipur has been decreased since April leading to decrease in allocation of foodgrains, due to non-linking of ration card with Aadhaar.
The beneficiaries whose ration cards are linked with Aadhaar may be able to draw ration from any Electronic point of sale (e-PoS) operated Fair Price Shops (FPS) anywhere in the country under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC).
These remark was made by deputy general manager, Food Corporation of India, regional office, Manipur, Kamei during a press conference held at his office chamber, here, on Monday.
In order to ameliorate the hardship faced by the poor due to disruption of economic activities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the central government allocated additional foodgrains free of cost 5 kg per person per month to all beneficiaries covered under NFSA for the initial period of April to June 2020 under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PMGKAY), Kamei said.
The allocation is over and above NFSA allocation. The scheme was further extended from July to November 2020. The Food Corporation of India released 98,526 MT rice to Manipur in 2020. The scheme benefitted 2.01 lakh persons under AAY and 22.66 lakh persons under PHH in the state, he added.
In view of the resurgent of Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of India extended the PMGKAY to all beneficiaries covered under NFSA for the months of May-June, 2021at the same rate. The total allocations for the two months was 18,602 MT which has been fully lifted by goverment of Manipur as on June 6 this year. The scheme has benefitted 18,60,159 persons (AAY-1,76,699 and PHH-16,83,460), said Kamei.
The PMGKAY has been further extended from July to November, 2021. The total allocation of free rice for Manipur for the five months is 46,504 MT worth Rs13,95,12,000 at the rate of Rs.300 per quintal, he added.
The central government will bear the entire cost on account of distribution of foodgrains under PMGKAY including food subsidy, intra-state transportation and dealer’s margin/additional dealer’s margin without any sharing by state government, he said.
The Food Corporation of India has enhanced movement of stocks during the pandemic and despite lockdowns to meet the additional foodgrain requirements of the state for implementation of the PMGKAY. Foodgrains are transported from procurement regions of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the state through Dimapur and Jiribam Railheads. The food corporation has a total storage capacity of 62,812 MT in Manipur which is sufficient to store six months allocations under NFSA. At present, 56,336 MT rice are available in various godowns of the food corporation in the state, the deputy general manager said.
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