The food ministry is not sure whether the states would revamp the ailing targeted public distribution system (TPDS), integral to the success of the proposed National Food Security Act.
Concerned over the huge gap between the number of BPL cards issued by the states (around 11.5 crore families) and the BPL estimates give by the planning commission (6.5 crore families), the food ministry has asked the state governments to address the anomaly immediately. The planning commission puts the number of BPL families at 8.3 crore in 2010.
The ministry also asked the states to carry out a detailed exclusion and inclusion exercise to weed out the bogus ration cards, draining the system.
Pointing at the problem, sources said the difference in poverty estimates between the Centre and the states is certainly going to affect the implementation of the proposed food security bill as it would make identification of the beneficiaries problematic.
But there is little the centre can do as the states can technically issue any number of BPL cards, provided they foot the bill for the numbers over and above the quota approved for them by the planning commission.
The Centre’s argument for this restriction on the poverty estimates by the states is due to the reason that it bears the subsidy cost for the targeted public distribution system.