State Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister John Rotluangliana today said the State Government would not be able to implement the Food Security Act by the October deadline and therefore asked for a month’s extension.
“We are not ready as many of the selection committees in the villages are yet to submit the list of selected families of beneficiaries under the Act,” he said.
Of the State’s population of 12 lakh, he said, only 7,06,000 people would be covered by the Act and the rest would be taken care of by the State Government under different schemes.
The Minister said the monsoon stock of foodstuff in the State was sufficient. However, some remote villages were facing shortage of foodstuff due to monsoon-related problems including road blockades due to landslides and floods.