PMEAC chairman C Rangarajan has favoured increasing the ambit of the proposed Food Security Act to cover 50% population in rural areas and 30% in urban cities, more than what was recommended by the Sonia Gandhi headed National Advisory Council.
Rangarajan has also asked the Food Ministry to work the quantity of foodgrains in case the ambit of the ?priority? households as proposed by NAC is raised to cover more people. He gave this direction to the food ministry at a meeting of the expert committee, set up by Prime Minister to examine the recommendations of the NAC on the proposed Food Security Act. Rangarajan heads the committee.
While the NAC, headed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, has proposed a legal entitlement to ?priority? households covering 46% in rural areas and 28% in urban areas.
It has suggested that this category should get monthly entitlement 35 kg of foodgrains at a subsidised price of Re 1/kg for millets, Rs 2/kg for wheat and Rs3/kg for rice. The PM?s expert committee has representation from food, agriculture, finance ministries and the Planning Commission.
Sources said the expert committee also discussed NAC? another proposal to give legal entitlement of foodgrains to ?general? households and the subsidy implication.
The proposed Food Security Act was part of the Congress party manifesto for the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009, promising 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs.3 per kg for every poor family with legal sanction.
An empowered group of ministries (EGOM) had then cleared the draft bill in March this year, on the same line as what had been proposed in the Congress manifesto. But the NAC had wanted its scope to expand to 35 kg per family.