Maharashtra ready to implement Food Security Act from December

PUNE: Maharashtra food and civil supplies minister Anil Deshmukh said that the state has completed the preparations for implementation of the Food Security Act and it will come into force from December.

Of the 11.23 crore people in the state, 7.17 crore people will benefit by this act. Of this 4.70 (76.32%) crore people will be from the rural area which 2.30 (45.34%) crore people will be from the urban area.

There are 1,024 warehouses in the state with a capacity of 5.62 lakh tonne. Also, data, necessary for the distribution system is available for 8.5 crore people. The state government has undertaken a programme to build 611 new warehouses using Rs 2000 crore funds from various schemes. This will create 13.5 lakh tonne addition storage capacity.

The collector or the deputy collector will act as the grievance redressal authority for implementation of the act. The state government will set up a five member State Food Commission. ""The commission will be appellate authority for complaints against the district level grievance redressal authorities,"" said Deshmukh.