BHUBANESWAR: With the deadline for implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) drawing near, the Odisha Government has pressed the panic button so that identification of priority households can be initiated.
In the first phase, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Bhubaneswar block will be covered by using National Population Register (NPR) data.
In the second phase, all urban local bodies and district headquarters blocks will be covered whereas the last leg will enumerate the remaining 275 blocks.
The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department has also presented a timeline for the subsequent phase under which ration cards will be distributed in the second fortnight of December. From January 1, 2015, the cards can be put to use. Two more phases will see ration cards being made operational for different regions in April and July next year. While the Centre has already extended the July deadline for implementation by three months, the Government is facing a dilemma over the exclusion criteria which may see many BPL households left ineligible.In order to identify the beneficiaries, the Government will match the NPR data with seven other databases such as voter cards, e-Vahan and CESU connections so that duplicates are eliminated.
The Government has also decided to publicise the exclusion criteria and application process for the benefit of the people.