To ward off any threat of huge grain imports on the government's account in the event of drought or natural calamity, the draft Food Security Bill proposes to pay through cash or vouchers in lieu of grains or cooked meals to targeted beneficiaries.
According to the draft bill recently cleared by an empowered group of ministers chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the state governments will be responsible to make payments of such food security allowance to the targeted beneficiaries in the manner and time laid down by the Centre.
The final Bill is to be presented in the monsoon session of Parliament, which began on Monday.
The beneficiaries which the food Bill seeks to cater to include priority and general category households, pregnant and lactating mothers, malnourished children, destitute and homeless people, migrants and people living in starvation.
The draft bill seeks to provide grains to households in both priority and general categories and cooked meals to all others.
The Bill, once implemented, will cover 75 per cent of the total rural population, of which 46 per cent will comprise priority sector households, below the poverty line.
It will also cover up to 50 per cent of the total urban population in the country, of which 28 per cent will be priority and the rest general category, above the poverty line.
The draft bill, as prepared by the food ministry, specifically said that in case of short supply of foodgrains from the central pool, the Union government will provide funds to states for meeting the obligation to provide cheap food or cooked meals to the
targeted beneficiaries.