UP, Bihar foodgrain allocation to soar

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh would be the top two in the increase of annual foodgrain allocation among states in line with the National Food Security Ordinance, promulgated earlier this month.

Rajasthan is the third.

According to an internal assessment of the food ministry, shared with chief ministers recently, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh will see a massive reduction in their annual grain allocation.

The assessment was based on the estimated percentage of people to be covered under the ordinance in each state.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh together send 120 members to the Lok Sabha of the total of 543 elected ones.

The assessment shows states where legislative Assembly polls are due in the next few months stand to gain the most from the ordinance.

The assessment says annual allocation of foodgrain to Bihar will rise by 110.2 per cent as compared to average annual offtake under the Targeted Public Distribution System between 2009-10 and 2011-12, from 2.66 million tonnes to 5.6

mt.

Annual allocation to Uttar Pradesh will go up 47 per cent as compared to this offtake of three years, from 6.55 mt to 9.63 mt. Rajasthan’s annual quota is to rise by 52 per cent.

Tamil Nadu’s annual quota will fall 32 per cent, from 3.78 mt to 2.57 mt. That of Kerala will come down by the same percentage, from 1.34 mt to 0.91 mt. Jammu and Kashmir’s annual allocation will fall almost 40 per cent.

The note showed 80.7 per cent of UP’s rural population and 61.25 per cent of the urban one will be covered. In Bihar, it would be 86.7 per cent and 73.2 per cent, respectively.

In Tamil Nadu, 65.25 per cent of the rural population will come under the ambit, as will 42.7 per cent of the urban one.

The Kerala porportions would be 45.75 per cent and 38.2 per cent, respectively.

In J&K, 57 per cent of the rural population and 52 per cent of the urban one will get the cheaper food.