Mizoram to revise list of beneficiaries under NFSA: Minister

The Mizoram government will revise the list of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), state Food, Civil Supply and Consumers Affairs minister B Lalchhanzova said on Wednesday. The minister said the government will find well-to-do families or those not eligible for benefit under NFSA and accordingly register them as non-NFSA or white card holders.

"Any household living in urban areas whose annual income is less than Rs 4 lakh and those living in rural areas with income less than Rs 2.5 lakh in a year will be covered under the NFSA. Families, which fall outside these two categories will be treated as non-NFSA beneficiaries," the minister told a press conference on Wednesday.

Any existing non-NFSA beneficiary whose annual income is less than 4 lakh for urban area and Rs. 2.5 lakh in rural area will be converted into NFSA beneficiaries, he said.

The minister said that the state cabinet in its meeting held on June 18 had decided to stop providing ration to chief minister, ministers, legislators and Group A officers under the Centre or state governments and public sector undertakings.

The cabinet meeting also decided to reduce the subsidy given to non-NFSA beneficiaries from Rs 25 per kg of rice to Rs 10 per kilogram of rice, he said.

"By stopping ration to VIPs and Group A officers and by cutting down subsidy to non-NFSA card holders, we are expecting to save over Rs 5.25 crore in a month and more than Rs 63 crore in a year from the purchase of foodgrains," Lalchhanzova said.

He said that the state's monthly requirement of rice to be distributed under the public distribution system is over 97,000 quintals.

According to the minister, ration card holders are divided into three categories - yellow card holders (antyodaya anna yojana or AAY), blue card holders (priority household or PHH) and white card holders (Non-NFSA).The AAY and PHH beneficiaries are covered under the NFSA.

While AAY households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, are entitled to free 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month, priority households are entitled to free 5 kg of rice per person in a month and they are provided an additional 3 kg of rice per person at the rate of Rs 15 per kg.

The white card holders or non-NFSA beneficiaries are provided 8 kg of rice per person per month at the subsidised rate of Rs 15 per kg, the minister said.All the changes will come into effect from October, the minister said.