‘No proposal to exclude tax payers, govt employees from TPDS’

New Delhi, December 12
The government today informed Parliament that there was no proposal to exclude tax payers and government employees from the ambit of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

“There is no proposal under consideration of the government to exclude tax payers and government employees from the purview of TPDS,” Minister of State for Food Raosahed Patil Danve said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Under the National Food Security Act notified in September 2013, the state governments are required to evolve the criteria for identification of priority households and identify beneficiaries within the coverage set for each state for receiving subsidised foodgrains under the PDS, he said.

In a conference held in July this year on this issue, the Minister said that it was suggested to the state governments that “while identifying eligible households, they should ensure that scheduled caste and schedule tribe households are included, except those in government service, public sector undertakings or autonomous institutions or income tax payers.”

The food law, which grants legal right over highly subsidised foodgrains to the country’s two-third population, has been implemented by only 11 states and Union Territories so far, while the rest 25 states/UTs have not yet rolled out the scheme.

Recently, the Centre gave ultimatum to these 25 states/UTs to implement the law by April 5 else it will not allocate subsidised foodgrains for distribution to APL (above poverty line) families under the PDS.

The Centre also warned states, which have partially implemented the law, to put in place all necessary infrastructure including online data of beneficiaries by February else will withhold foodgrains allocation to those beneficiaries who are not in the online list.

The food law was to be implemented within a year after its passage in Parliament. The government has extended deadline for implementation of the law twice till April 4, 2015. — PTI