NEW DELHI, Oct 9: Incomes Tax payers and ranking officials in government may be out of the ambit of the Public Distribution System if a thinking in the Central government gathers momentum.
The Modi government has asked states to try such a scheme and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan will be discussing the issue with them.
It has also given enough signals that the much-touted welfare food security programme of the UPA government will not be shelved.
In fact, plans are afoot to fine-tune the scheme to target the beneficiaries in a better way and address the foodgrains entitlement, a sensitive issue raised by states.
“It is possible. We are thinking on these lines. I believe that instead of identifying poor beneficiaries, it would be better to identify those who can be excluded from the scheme,” he told PTI in an interview.
He was asked whether the government has any plans to implement the much-discussed idea of excluding income tax payers from the ambit of PDS benefits.
The Minister cited the case of Madhya Pradesh government already implementing a scheme on these lines.
“Class I and II officers and income tax payers are kept out of the ambit of PDS benefits in the state. We have asked all states to try this. I will discuss this issue with the state governments,” he said.
At the same time, Paswan also expressed dissatisfaction over operation of PDS. “The benefit that should reach the poor is not reaching. There are many complaints about PDS.”
With the expiry of the three-month deadline to states to implement the food law that costs over Rs one lakh crore, he said the Centre will give another extension to the states.
“There is no question of closing down the scheme. There is no question of closing down of the previous scheme also till the new one is fully implemented,” he said.
He also rejected suggestions that the new government was not keen about the scheme launched by the previous government last year.
“There is no less enthusiasm. Many states had opposed the law. We are trying to implement the law at the earliest. We had given three months extension that has expired. There might be another extension given to states,” Paswan said.
The Centre will also advise state governments to exclude tax-payers and class 1-2 officers from the beneficiaries’ list under the food law, he told in an interview.
Making it clear that the NDA government will not shelve the new law brought in by the previous UPA regime, Paswan said that the government will implement the Act but hinted there could be some amendments to remove anomalies in entitlement.
The Food law, that gives two-thirds of the country’s population the right to subsidised foodgrains, was to be implemented by July 4, this year. Since all states did not roll out the law, a three-month extension was given, which expired on October 4.
So far, 11 states have implemented, of which six states have rolled out partially. The Act guarantees 5 kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at Rs 3, 2, 1, respectively.
The implementation of the law would increase the Centre’s food subsidy bill by Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 1.31 lakh crore.
“Since we are not planning to close the scheme, we have to give another extension. Many states have sought extension for a period of upto one year for implementing the law. No state has said it will not implement the law,” he said.
Noting that the law has both positive and negative points, he said: “Plus point is that a large population gets wheat at Rs 2 and rice at Rs 3 kg. Minus point is that a BPL family, which used to get 35 kg of grains per month, is now getting 5 kg per head.”
Asked whether the government will bring amendments to the law to correct some anomalies, Paswan said, “I am not in a situation to discuss in public on some amendments likely to be brought in the law. We are still studying how lacunae in the law can be addressed.”
Paswan also said the Centre is not in a hurry to implement the law unless infrastructure criteria mentioned in it is put in place by the state governments.
Identifying beneficiaries, distribution of new cards, storage facilities and efficient PDS are some of infrastructures that States have to put in place before implementing the law, Paswan said.
“Barring Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, other states are not implementing the law properly. This time, we have been strict with states.
“Unless infrastructure is put in place as per the provisions of the law, we have decided not to recognise the state that announces it has implemented the law,” Paswan said, adding that the previous PDS scheme will continue till the time the food law is implemented.
He listed out some of the issues plaguing the PDS like supply of poor quality ration, leakage of foodgrains during transportation and improper way of distributing ration cards. (PTI)
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