National Times Bureau :- As many as 11 lakh beneficiaries in Punjab are on the verge o getting deprived of the free wheat under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) after the Punjab government adopted the Centre’s criteria to exclude individual members of families from the scheme.
The Punjab government has released a notification, listing the criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of beneficiaries. According to the scheme adopted by the Punjab government, 11 lakh beneficiaries stand to lose receiving free wheat under the NFSA. The notification, which is an amendment to the Punjab Food Security Rules, 2016, also states that it is being issued with the approval of the Chief Minister.
As per the scheme, those who pay the GST, service tax and professional tax or own a motorised four-wheeler or air conditioners will be excluded from the list of beneficiaries receiving free grains.
At present, Punjab has 1.52 crore beneficiaries who get free wheat under the NFSA.
Marginal farmers owning less than 2.5 acres of land will continue to be exempt, but small farmers with holdings between 2.5 and 5 acres will now be excluded from receiving free foodgrains. In Punjab, 8.16 lakh farmers were registered during the last paddy season, of which only 2.93 lakh fell under the marginal category. The remaining 5.23 lakh, including small farmers, will no longer qualify for free foodgrain benefits under the revised criteria.
Among other beneficiaries placed in the list of exclusion criteria, as per the notification of the Food and Supplies Department, are families of all government employees, any household which owns and operates a registered enterprise; any household having an annual income of over Rs 1.80 lakh and any household owning a house built on a plot of over 100 square yards or a flat of over 750 square feet area.
