Delhi to be the first state to roll out food security scheme

Delhi is all set to become the first state in the country to roll out the food security scheme with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday saying that the ambitious programme will be launched on August 20, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Dikshit conveyed her government's decision to launch the scheme first to Union Food Minister K V Thomas in a meeting. "The Chief Minister informed the Union Food Minister that Delhi will be the first state in the country to roll out the scheme," Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Harun Yusuf, who accompanied Dikshit in the meeting with Thomas, told PTI. He said the Delhi Government has started the ground work for implementation of the scheme and Dikshit has appointed a committee under his chairmanship for making all the preparations. When asked about his meeting with Dikshit, Thomas said "Delhi has come forward first to implement the food security programme." He said Dikshit sought some clarifications on number of beneficiaries and prices of food grains and he clarified about them. President Pranab Mukherjee had signed the Ordinance on Friday that will give the nation's three-fourth population the right to get 5 kg of foodgrains every month at highly subsidised rates of R1-3 per kg. Per kg of rice will be supplied at R3 while wheat and wheat and coarse cereals will be given at R2 and R1 per kg respectively under the programme. However, about 2.43 crore poorest of the poor families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme under PDS would continue to get 35 kg of grains per family per month but with legal entitlement. The Food Security programme will be the biggest in the world with the government spending estimated at R125,000 crore annually on supply of about 62 million tonnes of rice, wheat and coarse cereals to 67 per cent of the population. Delhi Government had launched Annashri Yojna, a major food security programme, in December last year, under which monthly cash subsidy of R600 are being transferred directly into Aadhaar-linked bank account of the senior-most female member of around one lakh poor families.