12 states have implemented Right to Food Act: Ram Vilas Paswan

Patna, Jun 15: Union Minister

on Sunday said only five states have fully implemented

Security Act and seven others have done so partially so far.

Till date, only 12 states have implemented the Food Security Act with the states like Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab doing so fully as per the provisions of the Central Act, the Food and Public Distribution Minister told reporters.

Seven other states, including Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Chandigarh, have implemented Food Security Act partially, Paswan said.

He said as per the Act, all states are required to identify the number of beneficiaries by July 4, but only 12 states have done so thus far.

The Centre will soon take a call whether or not to extend deadline for identification of the beneficiaries under the Food Security Act, the Union Food and Public Distribution Minister said.

In Bihar's case, as many as 1.58 crore families have been under the Food Security Act comprising 85 per cent of rural families and 74 per cent of urban families for which 4.90 lakh metric tonne foodgrains, including rice and wheat, will have to be made available for distribution to the intendant beneficiaries, he said.

PTI