Ordinance reduces monthly quota of rice for Odisha: Naveen Patnaik

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said that the state's monthly quota of rice would decline by about 12,000 tonnes under the Food Security Ordinance and sought certain changes in it.

"While the state at present gets 1,82,000 tonnes of rice per month, (that allocation) would come down to 1,70,000 tonnes once the Food Security Ordinance is implemented," Patnaik said on the sidelines of a function here to inaugurate an FCI godown.

Stating that the newly-promulgated ordinance provided rice to individuals, Patnaik said that the allotment in the state was on the basis of the family.

The monthly quota for rice for a family was 25kg but, after implementation of the ordinance, beneficiaries would be handed rice on a per-head basis.

The provision for supplying 5kg rice per head per month would severely hit small families, particularly elder couples living separately, Patnaik said.

Stating that tribal and dalit families might fall victims to the ordinance, Patnaik said: "An old couple who received 25kg rice every month will, after implementation of the ordinance, get a monthly 10 to 15kg."

Patnaik said there was no provision in the new ordinance for supplying rice to special category persons coming under the Antoday Annapurna scheme. Neither were scheduled tribe and scheduled caste students at educational institutes included among the beneficiaries, he added.

Patnaik said his government would be able to meet the requirements of all underprivileged people in the state if it was provided 1,82,000 tonnes of rice.