Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 27: State Government today said there is no law, either State or Central, which cannot be amended but clarified that there would be no reduction in the ration supply to the Jammu and Kashmir and termed the NFSA as pro-people.
Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Chowdhary Zulfkar told a press conference here today: “I reiterate that there is no law in the world which is divine. Any legislation can be amended and even if the Central Law is supposed to amended, there is a provision under Section 25 by which both the houses of the Legislature can pass resolution, and can send amendments to the President of India.”
The Minister said whatever the State is getting from the GoI is highly subsidized and is in the interest of the Jammu and Kashmir. He termed the ongoing hue and cry over NFSA unnecessary. “We are in the initial stage but after gathering the entire data, if we feel the need to increase the scale, I assure you that the Government will do whatever is required to be done and we will not leave Kashmiris to starve. Every Kashmiri and person of the State will get adequate ration, there would be no shortage of food grains,” he said, adding the allocation of 7.71 lakh metric tones to the State will continue from the GoI.
Zulfkar said the decision to implement the NFSA was taken in the interest of the people. “We are an elected Government and we don’t have any intention or goal to take such a decision which is not in the interest of the people of the State. The decision we have taken is in the interest of the people,” he said, and dismissed the charges of opposition National Conference wherein they alleged that the NFSA is “anti-people and a black law”.
The Minister while responding to the charges of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that it was the NC-led Government which gave its consent to the GoI regarding the implementation of the NFSA in the State.
“This is the documentary proof signed by the then Chief Secretary by virtue of which NFSA was made applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the J&K Government at the time didn’t bother to bring the legislation in the Assembly but they bypassed the Assembly and they allowed the GoI to bring the legislation to the State,” Zulfkar said while displaying the copy of the decision.
While explaining the benefits of the NFSA besides “very low price”, the Minister said that every pregnant and lactating women would be provided free of cost ration as well as an allowance compensation of Rs 6000 for taking supplementary during that period. He said if the CAPD Department fails to provide free ration then they will provide compensation in lieu of this.
Zulfkar said the criteria for getting highly subsidized ration at the rate of Rs 2(Atta) and Rs 3 (rice) would AAY/BPL category list, households having meager monthly income, houseless and landless people, widows, orphans, destitute, militancy and violence affected, low income group, leprosy patients, domestic house maid, weaker section of the society, old age pension holders, specially-abled, physically handicapped, inhabitant having displaced families of natural calamities, labourers and workers.
The CAPD Minister informed that the department has till December 26 enrolled about 22 lakh families in the State under NFSA Act. “In Jammu Division, we had issued 12, 58, 929 forms and 10, 41, 465 have been submitted back. Similarly, in Kashmir Division, we had issued 13, 07, 081 forms and 11, 52, 707 have been submitted back,” he said.
The Minister dismissed the claim that those having mobiles would not get ration. “Some big leaders here claim that those having mobiles would not be provided ration. I want to tell that if you keep 10 mobiles of top companies still there would be no ban on buying the ration. If you have car, you can still take the ration but you have to come under the criteria. But coming to mobile phone, this is the wrong notion,” he said, adding “it is not good thing to politicize the ration issue.”
In reply to a question with regard to the reduction of kerosene, the Minister said: “As far as the kerosene is concerned, the GoI has made one person entitled for one subsidy. They are reducing kerosene in all States including in North East. But recently I requested Union Petroleum Minster to consider the quota of the State keeping in view the topography. We have taken up the matter and we are trying to streamline the issue.” He said as of now there is no shortage in the quota of the sugar.
Meanwhile, Zulfkar said the time has come when the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) should be disbanded in Jammu Division.
The Minister said that the issue of disbanding VDCs would be taken with the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed once he arrives in the State.
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