New Delhi: Akhilesh Prasad Singh - Ex-Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (CAFPD) Minister for State - has suggested that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) should be continued for one more year by the Central government. Singh, who is also a Congress Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, suggested that Centre's decision to stop PMGKAY in November 2021 can have adverse impact on the BPL population of the country, especially when a third wave of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is being predicted.
While putting forth his argument, he said if the Centre claims to have enough food storage, there is no reason to discontinue the PMGKAY scheme on November 30. With around 100 million tonnes of food grains available, the Union government is falling short of storage space. And yet, the PMGKAY scheme started to facilitate subsidised food for the poor and COVID affected population of India is being discontinued on November 30.
He also questioned the population statistics being taken into consideration under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013. As per the records, about 80 crore people of the Indian population are the beneficiaries of the provisions of the NFSA. But these statistics are based on the 2011 census data. Since 2011, the population must have exponentially increased. Therefore, Singh also expressed the need to include this additional population in the NFSA scheme as well.
He further expressed concern over the fact that crores of underprivileged people who do not have a ration card are being exempted from the benefits provided under these schemes. He pointed out that it's necessary to identify those without ration cards and provide them with free or subsidized foodgrains since they too are in need and hold equal rights.
Rajya Sabha MP said that people are suffering in various ways due to unprecedented pandemic. Around 500 people are losing their precious lives every day in India because of Covid-19, while many have lost jobs and are facing financial crises. In such a situation, it would be unethical to stop the PMGKAY scheme since many people can utilise it in difficult times, he added.
Under the PMGKAY scheme introduced in March 2020 as a Covid-19 relief measure, around 80 crore people holding ration cards were facilitated with 5 kgs of foodgrains per person every month for free. It was further extended in 2021 considering the growing seriousness of the pandemic. As per the records, the central government had allotted 278 LMT of foodgrains from May to November 2021, and 322 LMT foodgrains from April to November 2020 for the BPL population across India. Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has said that considering the open market sale scheme policy and an improvement in the overall economy, the PMGKAY scheme is planned to be discontinued after November 30.
