July 5, 2014
West Bengal asks Center to provide Food Security for All
The State Government has urged the Central Government to implement law for Food Security of All. In a meeting between the Union Food Minister and the Food Ministers from all the states, the state Food Minister Mr. Jyotipriya Mullick informed that the law that has been passed by the Central Government will benefit 6 crore 1 lakh people in West Bengal, whereas the population of the state is around 9 crore 22 lakhs.
The Central Government has allotted 38 lakh 47 thousand metric tonnes of food grain for west Bengal whereas the real need is 20 lakh metric tonnes more to bring all the people of the state under food security. The state has urged the Center to provide with the extra amount of food grains or give Rs 2 thousand crore every year.
The state Food Minister has informed the Center that since it is cash strapped, it could not bear the expenditure of supplying the food grains to the people. Mr. Mullick has also urged the government to nullify all the crop loans taken by poor farmers in the State which amounts to Rs 20 thousand crores.
The Food Minister has also urged the Center to bear the expense of the amount of Rs 1000 crore that is being spent by the state to supply rice @Rs. 2 in Jangalmahal, the seven blocks in Birbhum and 15 blocks of the Aila-affected Sunderbans. He also urged the Central Government to bear the expense of Rs 5 crore every month that is being spent by the state to supply sugar at low cost to the poor people.
