Welfare grain supply: Committee considers whether to maintain subsidy to bodies covering the poor

NEW DELHI: A high-level panel today held discussions on whether to continue supplying subsidised foodgrain to welfare bodies covering beggars and destitute once the food law is fully implemented in the country. The ninemember panel, chaired by food minister Ram Vilas Paswan, also discussed price and subsidy in case the government continues to allocate subsidised foodgrain to welfare institutions.

Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman, power minister Piyush Goyal, chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian and food secretary Sudhir Kumar were present in the meeting of the panel which was set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to sources, the meeting remained inclusive as other key members transport minister Nitin Gadkari, environment minister Prakash Javadekar, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha and the finance secretary were not present.

The panel is examining the issue as there is lack of transparent criteria for identifying institutions and absence of a monitoring mechanism for distribution of subsidised foodgrain to welfare bodies covering beggars, homeless children and women.

The panel was set up following the Food Ministry's observations that some states have “neither a well defined criteria for selection of institutes nor fixed guidelines for their supervision. The process of applying for the benefits was also not clearly laid down,” sources said. Some states like Rajasthan, which rolled out the Food Law, have stopped supplying cheap foodgrain to welfare bodies.