Cabinet defers promulgation of Food Security Ordinance

The Union Cabinet has today decided to defer the promulgation of an ordinance to implement the Food Security Bill. The controversial Bill will entitle the underprivileged population 5 kg food grains per person at Rs. 1-3 per kg.

The Hindu reports, “The Bill got stalled after questions were raised by senior Ministers including Sharad Pawar, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P. Chidambaram about the availability of foodgrains in a bad crop year, pilferage of PDS foodgrains and the financial implications of the proposed food subsidy. Also the Prime Minister wanted to hear all the views before taking a decision. It is likely to be taken up in the next Cabinet meeting. Efforts are on to introduce the Bill in this session itself.”

Live Law had earlier pointed out that “Though the Bill seeks to promote an inclusive development for India’s poor, it fails to provide for the distribution of the very resources it talks about! While it does legislate for specific amounts of food grains to be distributed to needy families, it fails to give detail on how it plans to ensure this allocation.”

The Bill was a part of UPA’s election manifesto.