New Delhi: Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi wrote letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to ensure that no one in the country faces hunger during the time of nationwide lockdown.
In her letter, Sonia Gandhi stated, "Lakhs of vulnerable people across the country face chronic food security due to lockdown. This is tragic given that India has large buffer stock of food grains precisely for exigencies like the current pandemic."
While welcoming Center's decision to provide free of cost, 5 kg grain per person in addition to the entitlements under NFSA from April-June, 2020, she also suggested certain measures to the Union Government to tackle the adverse impact of lockdown on people's livelihood, due to coronavirus pandemic.
Sonia Gandhi mentioned, "Firstly, the provision of 10 kg grains per person to NFSA beneficiaries must be extended for additional period of 3 months, i.e. till September 2020. Given the chronic economic distress faced by these beneficiaries, the food entitlements may be provided free of cost."
She further added, "10 kg grains per person milk provided free of cost for a period of 6 months to those who may be facing food insecurity but not holding ration cards. I would like to bring to your notice that all migrant labour who have been facing acute distress may not be holding NFSA cards. In addition many deserving people have been excluded from NFSA lists."
Concerning about the matter, she further said, "The current crisis has pushed many relatively food secure families into food insecurity and poverty. Population increases in 2011 have not been considered for determining each States entitlement under National Food Security Act (NFSA)."
She asserted that these measures are not only critical to safeguard people against food inflation at a juncture where supply-chain destructions are causing price rise, but also the release of food grains to States will help to create storage space with Food Corporation of India (FCI) to ramp up Rabi season procurement of wheat and rice.
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