Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 12: The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was to be implemented in three phases in Orissa, will now be implemented in two, food supply and consumer welfare secretary Madhusudan Padhee has said.
“The second and third phases have been merged,” said Padhee, a day after attending a meeting on NFSA with officials of the Centre in New Delhi Wednesday.
The state government had planned to initiate the digitization process for the second phase in all urban local bodies (ULBs) and district headquarter towns. It had planned to launch the digitization process in all other blocks in the third phase.
Padhee said that digitization of new ration cards to enlist beneficiaries of NFSA in second phase will be done from January 20 after finalisation of tenders this month. The final draft publication will be done by June, following which the printing and distribution will be done.
“Beneficiaries will get their ration cards by August in the second phase,” he said. “After this we will be able to implement NFSA for this phase.”
Padhee said beneficiaries in the first phase will be issued cards in February.
In the first Phase, NFSA will be implemented in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Block under Khurda district on a pilot basis from February 2015.
“We are in our publication stage in the first phase now and after publication there will be disposal of objections received under the block and corporation level. Later, they will also be discussed at Grama Sabha and ward sabha level following which the draft will be finalised. The beneficiaries will be able to get the cards from February,” Padhee said.
“We do not have computers in all centers. So we have planned to initiate digitization process through central locations at district level. The bidding process for initiating this work has already begun and the digitization work for the second phase will start January 20,” Padhee said.
