Centre extends food law deadline by 6 months

Jaipur, Apr 3: The Centre has given six months' more time to the states for rolling out the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.

The deadline, which has already been extended twice for implementing the food law, was ending on April 4.

Only 11 states and Union Territories have so far implemented the National Food Security Act which was passed by Parliament in September 2013. The rest 25 states/UTs have not implemented it yet.

"The central government has further given six months' time to the states to implement the NFSA," Paswan told reporters.

The deadline has been extended for the third time so that the remaining states adopt and implement the law within six months, the minister added.

The law aims at providing legal entitlement to 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains per person per month at Rs 1-3/kg to two-thirds of the country's population.

The Centre had given stern warning to remaining states that it will stop supply of subsidised APL foodgrains if they fail to meet April deadline.

At present, the Centre is allocating foodgrains to 11 states/UTs as per the new food law, while the rest are getting foodgrains quota as per earlier PDS norms.

Despite extension of the deadline twice, only 11 states/UTs -- Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Chandigarh have so far implemented the Act, some of them fully and others partially.

PTI