Madhya Pradesh’s rice quota to be increased: Ramvilas Paswan

Bhopal: Amending food grains quota for Madhya Pradesh under public distribution system, eligible families will be provided 75 percent wheat and 25 percent rice, respectively. Earlier, this was 80 percent and 20 percent. Process adopted by Madhya Pradesh to implement Food Security Act will be replicated in entire country. This was stated by Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Shri Ramvilas Paswan while distributing eligibility slips to beneficiaries under National Food Security Act during Food Security Festival at Seoni today. Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah and Farmers Welfare & Agriculture Development Minister Shri Gaurishankar Bisen were present on the occasion.
Shri Paswan said that Food Security Act could not be implemented in 20 states and 5 Union Territories in the country. Madhya Pradesh has done an unprecedented work by implementing it and Chief Minister Shri Chouhan deserves compliment for this. He said that Chief Minister Shri Chouhan has tried to extend the Act’s benefit to maximum number of people by simplifying rules under it. Centre and state will work in tandem to develop Madhya Pradesh as an ideal state, he added.
Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that taxes received from natural resources are being used to extend benefits to the poor through various schemes. The Chief Minister said that Madhya Pradesh state is the first that had started providing subsidised food grains to the poor by launching Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana way back in year 2008 much before passage of National Food Security Act. Efforts have been made to extend Act’s benefit to maximum number of people by simplifying some of its provisions. About 75 percent people of the state including 25 categories of poor along with SCs and STs and BPL families have been brought under the Act’s purview. Eligible beneficiaries have been included after a survey of all people except Class-1, II and III officers and income tax payers. Condition of producing caste certificate for SCs and STs under the scheme has been abolished. Instead, they can avail benefit of the scheme by just giving an affidavit.
The Chief Minister said that state government wishes that every poor person has a house. In Madhya Pradesh, occupants of land till 2013 will be made owners. He urged people to cooperate in School Chalen Ham Abhiyan. He administered an oath to people and public representatives to get admitted to school children living in their neighbourhood.
During Food Security Festival, 2 lakh 34 thousand 900 families have been identified and 9 lakh 82 thousand 804 persons have been brought under purview of Food Security Act by distributing eligibility slips to them.
Along with eligibility slips, food grains were also distributed as a token to street vendor Shri Rajesh Patel, scheduled tribes member Shri Naresh Markam, scheduled castes member Smt. Gita Bai Mana, minorities member and domestic help Baswin Khan and hair dresser Dalchand Sarathe. Seoni district administration was also given ISO certificate for giving concrete shape to good governance.
MP Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, MLAs Shri Kamal Marskole, Shri Dinesh Munmun Rai, Shri Rajneesh Singh, former MLA Shri Dhal Singh Bisen, Shri Naresh Diwakar, Smt. Nita Pateriya and Shri Vaid Singh Thakur were also present on the occasion.