Himachal Govt has started the process for formulating action plan to implement the national food security ordinance in letter and spirit said state chief minister Virbhadra Singh while addressing the chief ministers’ conference of congress ruled state on national food security ordinance at 10 Janpath here today.
Singh said that state Govt will ensure to meet the nutritional standards fixed under the ordinance relating to cooked meals for children in Anganwadi Centres and Mid day meal scheme in Govt schools and added that provision of free meals during pregnancy and lactation and maternity benefits of 6000 rupees will ensure the better delivery outcomes and reduce the infant and maternal mortality rate in the state.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh stated that state Govt is covering the entire population under Targeted Public Distribution System by providing food grains and pulses at subsidized rates and added that ordinance may exclude about 18.85 lakh people from TDPS and also reduce monthly allocation by 17094 MT food grains to the state. He told that state Govt will continue to provide food grains to all families irrespective of facts whether they are covered under the ambit of the ordinance or not. He requested the central Govt to provide food grains (wheat and rice) at the current level of 43,995 MT per month.
Chief minister Virbhadra Singh told that BPL families in the state are currently getting 20 kgs wheat and 15 kg rice per month irrespective of family size and told that state Govt will maintain present level of scale to these families and requested the union Govt to allocate food grains at B P L price at existing level of allocations.
