By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Wednesday said it would seek public comments on the draft National Food Security Bill which seeks to legally entitle a majority of the population to subsidised foodgrain.
According to the draft of the bill, up to 75 percent of rural population and 50 percent of urban households would get monthly entitlement of 7 kg foodgrain per person, at Rs.3 per kg for rice, Rs.2 per kg for wheat and Re.1 per kg for coarse grains.
“For general households, it is 3 kg at an issue price not exceeding 50 percent of minimum support price of wheat and coarse grains and derived minimum support price of rice,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a statement.
The government plans to introduce the bill in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. The draft bill has been placed on the food ministry’s website http://fcamin.nic.in.
Other major provisions of the bill, include legal right to take home ration/meal to women, children, special groups including the destitute and homeless, emergency and disaster-affected persons.
The government proposes to set up a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism at district, state and national levels to ensure transparency and accountability in the system.