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Free pulses, announced a month ago as part of the relief package to the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), are yet to reach many homes in underprivileged sections of the society, reported The Indian Express.
According to the data by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, it has been reported that out of the total monthly allocation of 1.95 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) pulses under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), only 19,496 tonnes had been distributed by the states till Wednesday.
Sources told the publication that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), which is under control of the Agricultural Ministry, has been tasked with ensuring the supply of pulses from the buffer stocks it maintains.
The Finance Ministry on Thursday issued a statement – “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Progress So Far”, saying that “109,227 metric tonnes of pulses have also been dispatched” to various states and Union Territories (UTs).
The Food Ministry’s data shows that against a monthly allocation of 195,531 MT pulses under PMGKAY to provide pulses free of cost to 19.55 crore families under the NFSA, 122,312 MT has been issued to states. Out of this, 44,932 MT have been sent to “destination” states, 34,768 MT received by these states, and only 19,496 MT distributed to the beneficiaries.
This delay in distribution, almost a month after the scheme for the beneficiaries was announced on March 26, is allegedly a result of the delay in the milling process by NAFED, sources in the food ministry say.
Clarifying that NAFED is sending pulses to states, a senior official of NAFED told The Indian Express, “We have to distribute free pulses to 19.55 crore families for three months across all 36 states and UTs. In big states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the number of eligible beneficiaries is quite high and, therefore, the allocation is high, (so) we are taking some time.”
He also added that pulses in quantity have been sent to UTs such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Chandigarh, and smaller states such as Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. “Buffer stock of pulses is always kept un-milled (whole), and the milling process takes some time,” the official said.
After Food Ministry officials flagged a sluggish response in supply of pulses to the states, the Cabinet Secretary is learnt to have asked officials concerned in the Agriculture Ministry and NAFED to ramp up supply.
NAFED, the nodal agency for the supply of pulses had dispatched 5,516 tonnes of pulses to Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands until April 14, reported the Hindu BusinessLine.
It is supplying arhar dal, masoor malka, chana dal, chana whole and urad dal to the beneficiaries. Out of these, except for the chana, all other supplies require processing. NAFED procures raw pulses from farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the government and then hires millers through a transparent selection process to mill and deliver the processed pulses to different delivery centres.
It is hopeful to make dispatches for May and June in time.
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