NAC to continue discussions on food security bill

NEW DELHI - The National Advisory Council (NAC), which is examining the proposed food security bill, met Friday and decided to continue its discussions on the legislation aimed at providing guaranteed access to sufficient food for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable sections of society.

“It (Food Security Bill) is work in progress and the NAC will continue its deliberations at its next meeting,” a NAC statement said at the end of the meeting.

Harsh Mander, convenor of the working group on the framework of the draft bill on food security, made a presentation before the members. Sonia Gandhi, who heads the NAC, chaired the meeting.

The statement said NAC decided to constitute a working group of its members to look at issues relating to Denotified and Nomadic Tribes.

The council also decided that its working group on Transparency and Accountability will examine proposed amendments to RTI Rules.

The members also looked at the Communal Violence Bill with Farah Naqvi apprising the members of the progress made so far on the legislation. Naqvi is convenor of the NAC Working Group on Communal Violence Bill.

The next meeting of the NAC is scheduled to on Dec 21.

Official sources said that NAC was endeavouring to prepare a final draft of the food security bill.

At its meeting last month, the NAC had proposed that the government move beyond the below poverty line (BPL) criteria and recommended “priority” and “general” categories for legal entitlement of foodgrain under the proposed food security act.

The NAC has suggested that legal entitlements to subsidised foodgrain should be extended to at least 75 percent of the country’s population - 90 percent in rural areas and 50 percent in urban areas.