8 months after Supreme Court rap, state to set up food panel
The state food commission will be set up in Mumbai and will have a chairman as the head.
Mumbai: Eight months after the Supreme Court pulled up the Maharashtra government for not setting up a food commission, the state has moved a draft to form the food commission that will implement the Food Security Act.
The grievance redressal mechanism would consist of a call centre-based helpline with toll-free numbers for registering complaints and providing information to the public.
The state food commission will be set up in Mumbai and will have a chairman as the head. He will appoint the district grievance redressal officer.
The commission would have the powers to directly hear grievance or complaints related to the food safety act. The commission would also have the powers to visit and inspect any stock and delivery point, ration shops, school, Anganwadi, local authority or district office.
The district level officer would take necessary action on complaints lodged with him or her within 60 working days. The officer would have the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the CrPC.
“We have kept the draft open for suggestions and objections. The date has been extended till January 31. The draft will be finalised after incorporating a few suggestions, and it will be sent to the Cabinet,” an official from food and civil supplies department said.
As per the National Food Security Act 2013 which was unveiled by the UPA government, all ration card holders, with an annual income of Rs 44,000 in rural and Rs 59,000 for urban areas, will be eligible to avail the benefits.
The Supreme Court in April 2017, had pulled up the governments of the drought-hit states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka for not appointing state food commissions or not making them operational.