MUMBAI: The Opposition parties and
food rights activists
have flayed the state’s decision to dilute the
ration scheme
for small families from the most deprived sections after TOI reported on the government’s move. However, food and civil supplies minister
Girish Bapat
defended the decision and said the government was firm on implementing it.
“Smaller families do not lift the entire quota (of foodgrains). We have done this to prevent the diversion of grain by shopkeepers onto the open market,” said Bapat. He added, “We will ensure that not a single poor person goes hungry.”
The “poorest of the poor” in the country are entitled to 35kg of heavily subsidized grains per family through the
antyodaya scheme
under the Centre’s
Food Security Act
. The beneficiaries include primitive tribals, landless labourers, rural artisans and households headed by widows.
On Tuesday, TOI reported that the government has decided to scrap these cards for one- and two-member families and shift them to the priority household group where they are entitled to 5kg of subsidized grain per head per month. Against the cancelled cards, the state wants to shift larger families from the priority category to antyodaya cards. The state has 25 lakh antyodaya card holding families. Of these around 3.5 lakh cards are held by one- and two-member families.
The Opposition said the government was pushing the poor towards starvation deaths. “The government wants Maharashtra to become like Jharkhand which has seen a starvation death because of a cancelled ration card,” the NCP’s Nawab Malik said. “The BJP government is pushing the poor down. It has dismantled the ration scheme and the rural employment guarantee scheme,” alleged Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam.
Food activists pointed out that the decision violated the Centre’s Food Security Act. “It is illegal for the Maharashtra government to reduce the entitlement of the poorest sections based on family size. It is a violation of the Act and of court rulings,” said Suresh Sawant of the Ration Kruti Samiti.