President Pranab Mukherjee has signed the ordinance on food security to give nation’s two-third population the right to get 5 kg of foodgrain every month at highly subsidized rates of Rs 1-3 per kg.
Mukherjee cleared the ordinance, which was received by the President's Secretariat on Thursday night, ending speculation that he may not be in a rush to give his nod in the wake of strong reservations over its present form expressed by the BJP, the Left and some other major parties.
The food security programme will be the biggest in the world with the government spending estimated at Rs.125,000 crore annually on supply of about 62 million tonnes of rice, wheat and coarse cereals to 67 per cent of the population.
The Cabinet, which had last month deferred a decision on the issue following differences within, had approved promulgation of an ordinance to implement the Food Security Bill on Wednesday.
The ordinance comes just weeks before the scheduled Monsoon session of Parliament and political parties demanding that the Food Security Bill be debated in both the Houses before being passed.
Left parties attacked the government for taking the ordinance route saying the UPA-II has shown contempt for Parliament while the BJP termed it an “election gimmick” saying the Congress was running away from a debate in the House.
Samajwadi Party, a key outside supporter of the UPA, also sharply opposed promulgation of the ordinance saying it was undemocratic and the programme would derail the food economy.
The ordinance will have to be approved by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha within six months of promulgation.
The measure will guarantee 5 kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at a fixed price of Rs 3, 2, 1, respectively. The scheme will take at least six months to cover the entire country, officials said.
However, about 2.43 crore poorest of the poor families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme under the Public Distribution System (PDS) would continue to get 35 kg of foodgrain per family per month but with legal entitlement.
The Congress said the food security measure would be a game changer that will provide right to cheap food grains to 82 crore people. As the party and the government awaited assent of the President to the ordinance, Congress general secretary Ajay Maken and food minister K V Thomas accused the opposition of blocking the passage of the key bill in the last session of Parliament. “This may be a life saver, life changer for many people...So, delay even by a single minute or day, God knows how many lives it could cost,” Maken said, justifying the ordinance when the Monsoon session of Parliament is not far away.
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