Why are Drought-Affected States not Lifting Sufficient Food Grain: Supreme Court

-IANS

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response from 13 drought-affected states as to why they were not lifting enough food grain to made available at subsidised rates to the priority and vulnerable sections of the people in affected areas.

The bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice N.V. Ramana sought response from the 13 states as NGO Swaraj Abhiyan told the court that they were not lifting sufficient food grains as the central government was asking them to pay minimum support prices (MSP) beyond the 75 per cent limit under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

The National Food Security Act says that "the entitlements of the persons belonging to the eligible households at subsidised prices shall extend up to seventy-five per cent of the rural population and up to fifty per cent. of the urban population."

Telling the court that while it had ordered that all those affected by the drought conditions would be given food grains at subsidised rates as available to the people living below poverty line and vulnerable sections, the NGO said that this was not happening as states were not lifting required food grains due to the central government's stand.

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