New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
on Tuesday said implementing the Food Security Bill is a big
responsibility of the government.
"Food Bill is a big responsibility but we have to
implement it. Simultaneously, care should be taken to protect
interests of farmers so that they are adequately compensated
for their produce," Pawar said at a book release function
here.
The draft National Food Security Bill seeks to provide a
legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains to 75 per cent of
the country's rural population and 50 per cent of urban India.
The proposed bill would cost the government exchequer
more than Rs 1,00,000 crore annually in subsidies.
Last month, the minister had said that the proposed food
security law should be given only to the "really needy people"
and had suggested that the government should have a re-look at
prices of ration supplies.
The government should ensure that subsidised foodgrains
are not misused as procurement prices are much higher than the
rates at which grains are supplied through ration shops, he
had said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 23:07