Mayawati says Food Security Bill is impractical

LUCKNOW: Terming the proposed food security bill as impractical and an election stunt of the Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today said that it would put an additional burden on state governments.

"Without making proper arrangements for foodgrains and finances, an effort to get such a bill passed is only an election stunt of the Congress," Mayawati said in a release here.

"In case required amount of foodgrains is not provided to the eligible people, they would have to be given food security allowance which would have to be borne by the states thus putting additional financial burden on them," she said.

She said that it also proposes setting up state food security commissions and all its financial burden would also have to be borne by the states besides it would require finances for computerisation and construction of warehouses in large numbers.

Stressing that proposed bill would not prove to be benficial for the poor as was the case with several of the ongoing welfare schemes of the central government.

The BSP supremo alleged that since the number of BPL families has not been revised large number of poor would remain deprived of this scheme.