National Food Security Act (NFSA) may have to wait a little longer to become a reality as the ongoing socio-economic and caste census (SECC) is far from being completed. With five poll-bound states having virtually frozen the SECC exercise and Uttar Pradesh yet to publish the enumeration data, Union minister of state for food and consumer affairs K.V. Thomas may have to revisit his claim that half the states would rollout the NFSA by year-end.
National Food Security Act (NFSA) may have to wait a little longer to become a reality as the ongoing socio-economic and caste census (SECC) is far from being completed. With five poll-bound states having virtually frozen the SECC exercise and Uttar Pradesh yet to publish the enumeration data, Union minister of state for food and consumer affairs K.V. Thomas may have to revisit his claim that half the states would rollout the NFSA by year-end. Even though the NFSA has become a law, the basis on which the beneficiaries would be identified — 75 per cent in rural and 50 per cent in urban areas — awaits the conclusion of the SECC. “The poll-bound states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and others have stated that they would not be publishing the enumeration data because of the elections. Only after the formation of the new governments in these states, we would be able to see any forward development on the SECC exercise,” said a senior official. Prof. Thomas had last week stated that the SECC would be completed by November, which would help in rollout of the NFSA in half of the states by the year-end. In case of Uttar Pradesh, the official said that the state would publish the enumeration data by October 31. In fact, UP was a late starter in initiating the SECC, which has missed many deadlines set by the Centre, due to 2012 Assembly elections. When the Union Cabinet had approved the SECC after demand for it in Parliament, the Centre had set December 2011 deadline for its completion. The states, which have launched the NFSA, are banking on their existing below poverty line (BPL) lists, while the Centre has asked them to take the help of the recent data of the National Sample Survey (NSSO). However, the NFSA could not become a reality in its true sense, said the official, as long as the correct and authenticated data come out of the SECC on the basis of which the Centre would set the guidelines for states to identify beneficiaries of the ambitious food security scheme. When asked about the status of the socio-economic and caste census, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said that the exercise for addressing claims and objections is being undertaken by the state governments.
