Imphal: National Food Security Act (NFSA) is an ongoing regular scheme implemented in Manipur since 2016 and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is a special intervention of the central government to alleviate the hardships of the people during the Covid pandemic, says department of consumer sffairs, food and public distribution (CAF & PD).
Reports have been received of instances of confrontation between FPS agents and the members of public due to confusion in the quantity of rice to be distributed and who should be entitled to receive it under the ongoing NFSA and PMGKAY-III schemes, Manipur CAF & PD director Ranjan Yumnam said.
“There is no separate allocation for AAY households in PMGKAY and allocation of rice is calculated on the basis of number of beneficiaries. This scheme will benefit the Ration Card holders and enlisted members only and persons not possessing a valid Ration Card under NFSA will not be covered as per the guidelines of the scheme,” the director said.
The monthly allocation under NFSA for Manipur is 106106.45 qtl. There are 18,60,159 beneficiaries under NFSA with 62667 AAY households and 1683460 PHH beneficiaries. AAY households irrespective of the number of family members are entitled to receive 35 Kg of rice per month and all PHH beneficiaries shall receive 5kg of rice per person per month. The issue price of NFSA rice is Rs 3 per kg which is to be borne by the beneficiaries themselves.
The monthly foodgrains entitlements are to be collected by the Ration Card holders of NFSA from their respective FPS agents duly appointed by the deputy commissioner concerned. As per the existing guidelines of the scheme, persons not possessing a valid Ration Card will not be entitled to receive PDS ration, the director said.
PMGKAY is a special scheme introduced by the Centre as a Covid specific assistance to the states to mitigate the hardships of the people during these difficult times. The central government has allocated 93007.95 qtl of rice per month for May-June, 2021 to Manipur under Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) — Phase-III. Under this scheme, Ration Card holders/beneficiaries under NFSA will be provided additional rice at the rate 5 kg per person per month free of cost for a period May-June, 2021 over and above their monthly NFSA quota, he added.
The allocated NFSA / PMGKAY rice will be lifted by the district authorities through the transport contractor appointed by the CAF&PD department who shall be solely responsible for the safe transportation of the entire quantity of PMGKAY/NFSA rice from FCl/CAF&PD depots to respective Fair Price Shops in the districts.
FPS agents will distribute both the NFSA and PMGKAY rice to the entitled beneficiaries. In view of the current Covid pandemic, beneficiaries will follow Covid appropriate practices like maintaining social distancing of at least 6 feets, wearing a mask etc., while collecting their ration from the FPS shops/locations.
Under the existing norms of supervision of PDS rice distribution, district supply officers and civil supply 8nspectors of CAF&PD working under the district administration shall conduct regular inspections of the shops to ensure that FPS agents under their respective jurisdiction are distributing the correct quantity of rice to the genuine beneficiaries possessing valid Ration Cards within the framework of NFSA and PMGKAY.
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