Bhubaneswar: Confusion prevails over the date from which the revised rice quota under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) will come into effect with the State government puzzled by two letters mentioning two different dates received from the Central Government.
According to sources, the Odisha government has received two letters; one from the Union Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan and another letter from the Union Food and Public Distribution department. However, the confusion lies in the implementation date as one letter stipulates that the revised quota will come into force retrospectively from May while the other says the revision will be implemented from the month of June.
“We have received two letters from the Centre. While Union minister Paswan’s letter mentions May 2016 as the implementation date of the revised quota, the letter received from the Food and Public Distribution department says that it will be implemented from June 2016. I have asked the principal secretary of the department to ascertain the actual date of implementation,” Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister of Odisha Sanjay Das Burma said here today.
Notably, Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed media persons on June 1 that Union minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan had sent a letter to him stating that the allocation of rice and wheat ratio had been revised from 78.81: 21.18 to 85.47: 14.53 as demanded by the state government with effect from May this year.