Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, APRIL 16
The government of Nagaland on Friday assured the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan to implement the National Food Security Act in the state from June 1 this year, in two separate phases.
Announcing this at a press conference here today, Paswan said that the first phase would cover the two districts of Dimapur and Kohima. The next phase, starting July 1, would encompass all the remaining districts of the state.
According to him, Chief Minister TR Zeliang also “promised to fulfill all the pre-conditions” required to implement the Act. “New ration cards are being printed and online allocations of grains will be started immediately.
“The coverage of Aadhar has also gone up to 65% and soon ration cards will be seeded with Aadhar. This will check leakages and improve transparency in the Public Distribution System,” the minister said.
Also, a special task force – comprising central and state government officials and Food Corporation of India officials – has been formed to settle the Hill Transport Subsidy (HTS) claims of Nagaland. The committee has been tasked to submit its reports by July 30 next, Paswan informed.
According to, Deepak Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, the claims made by the government of Nagaland under HTS scheme amounts to more than Rs 700 crore, which has been accumulated for over 20 years.
He informed that the claims have been left pending all these years because of “anomalies in the submission of reports” from Nagaland government. “You have to produce evidence that this has been utilized. There have been anomalies in the submission of the reports,” Kumar said.
He also informed that the ministry concerned is ready to consider if Nagaland government asks for more quantity of rice, in lieu of a proportionate amount of wheat, on the account that a majority of the people in Nagaland take rice rather than wheat.
“We look after the local preferences and will have no issue with Nagaland if they want only rice. If the Nagaland government says that it wants only rice, then we will consider it.”
Paswan plans party rally in Oct
Paswan also expressed “surprise and happiness” at what he said was “the discovery that his party is so strong here in Nagaland.” Paswan, who is also the president of Lok Janshakti Party, was reportedly impressed by what he saw when “more than 150 party workers” in Nagaland came calling on him last evening.
“I have decided to visit Dimapur in October this year and have a party rally here. I realize that the party is very popular among the mass in the northeast,” he said.
ACAUT’s faux press
Saturday’s press conference presided by the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan had representations from members of ACAUT, which was strange because according to those who had called the conference, they were not invited.
Not only was the presence of the ACAUT members – posing queries to the Union Minister – at the news conference strange, but also disrespectful. Disrespectful not because they were asking questions – they have every right to do so – but because the press conference was meant only for the press, FCI officials, the Union Minister and his party workers.
As commendable as the ACAUT movement is, and every newspaper has been crying for a movement like ACAUT for years, it must be said that their act on Saturday was in bad taste. It is without question that the relationship between ACAUT and the press is complementary as well as supplementary. But it is not one and the same.
