85%
of the people are eligible poor covered
as beneficiary under NFSA in Odisha
RTI
Application was submitted to the PIO, Dept. of Food Supply and Consumer
Welfare, Govt. of Odisha seeking information about number of beneficiaries covered
under National Food Security Act
and total amount of subsidy given from
State budget towards one rupee rice
scheme, total card seized from the
beneficiaries and FIR lodged and withdrawn later on. On 19.10.16, the PIO
supplied the following information.
1.
Total
beneficiaries under NFSA as on 18.8.2016 are as follows.
|
Antodaya Anna Yojana Households ( AAY HH)
|
Beneficiaries under Households
|
Total NFSA beneficiaries
|
|||
|
Ration
Cards
|
Beneficiaries
|
Ration
Cards
|
Beneficiaries
|
Ration
Cards
|
Beneficiaries
|
|
974874
|
3540574
|
7475592
|
28138388
|
8450466
|
31678962
|
Comments- The Central Govt. has
restricted number of
beneficiaries to be covered under NFSA upto 3.26 crores
for Odisha. But the State
Govt. has still balance of
around 9 lakh people to be
covered under NFSA. Till August,
85 lakh families are covered under NFSA in Odisha. Besides
that thousands of applications of eligible poor families are pending in different blocks
offices for the ration card. It is
proved that more than 85% of the families in Odisha
are poor for
which they have
been covered under NFSA due to
their food insecurity. Tall claim of the
State Govt. that the
economic standard of the people
have improved is proved false.
2. Subsidy
given from State budget for
spending towards subsidised
rice scheme from
2009-10 to 2016-17
is as follows.
|
Year
|
Budget provision
|
Expenditure (
in crores)
|
|
2009-10
|
847.84 crores
|
847. 84 crores
|
|
2010-11
|
984.29 crores
|
924.44 crores
|
|
2011-12
|
984.29 crores
|
971.15 crores
|
|
2012-13
|
1196.84 crores
|
1182.66 crores
|
|
2013-14
|
1312.06 crores
|
1283.40 crores
|
|
2014-15
|
1403.00 crores
|
1212.08 crores
|
|
2015-16
|
1403.00 crores
|
1117.78 crores
|
|
2016-17
|
830.00 crores
|
|
3.
Following provision 29 of
Odisha Public Distribution System ( control) Order , 2016, the State Govt. filed
FIR and initiated criminal proceedings
and recovered cost of the grains from the ineligible Households
who have taken card. These
are as follows.
|
FIR Lodged (
number)
|
Ineligible
persons arrested
|
Cost
recovered
|
Cost
recovered from number of persons
|
|
6786
|
353
|
42,13,67,266.00
|
1,19,802
|
4.
In view of rising
discontentment among the
people who suffered
due to police action and arrest,
the State Govt. amended the PDS ( Control) Order, 2016
terming it as Odisha
PDS ( control) Amendment
Order,2016 making a provision that
if any person holds ration card
and coming under exclusion
criteria , but he returns such ration card on or before
the 30th September ,
2016 , no action shall be taken against him.
5.
While releasing
Govt. order dt. 9.8.16, the State
Govt. instructed all Collectors to refund the recovered cost to the
beneficiaries who have surrendered their
cards and withdrew all criminal
actions initiated against them. However, the
surrendered cards would
remain cancelled till a
beneficiary claims it back
with proof of eligibility.
6.
The beneficiaries covered
under rural housing scheme like
Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana or IAY or Biju
Pucca Yojana should not be
debarred from getting benefits under NFSA. The 9th exclusion criteria will
not be applicable to the beneficiaries covered
under the above schemes.
Pradip
Pradhan
M-9937843482
Date-
24.12.16
