Patna, Sept. 25: Chief minister Nitish Kumar has written a letter to Union minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution K.V. Thomas, raising several objections to the draft National Food Security Bill, which he alleged was “far removed from the ground reality” and “gave inadequate attention to meeting the nutrition requirements of the poor”.
“The overriding negative feature of the proposed legislation is that under it the central government arrogates to itself all powers to decide the number, criteria and schemes, while unilaterally imposing a substantial financial burden on the state government,” he said, stressing that though the draft bill seeks to improve the existing PDS system, it has passed huge financial burdens on the state governments.
Nitish has also pointed out that the reforms of the PDS system are time-consuming, and cost-intensive. “The state government is of a considered view that the system of cash transfers would be preferable,” he stressed in his letter to the Union minister. He said cash transfers would mean lower leakage and minimum implementation cost. He added that identification and listing of beneficiaries would be best undertaken under the leadership of an independent body.
