Guwahati: As many as 1,72,856 beneficiaries of Assam are yet to be covered under the National Food Security Act, said Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass in reply to a question by MLA Debabrata Saikia in the Assembly today

Moreover, in the last five years, the department has eliminated the names of 2,06,729 beneficiaries ineligible beneficiaries from the list, the Minister added.

Replying to a question by MLA Aminul Islam (Senior), the minister informed the House that the names of 75,797 farmers were registered in the online paddy procurement portal under KMS 2021-22 (1st Crop) in the State. Among them, the highest 6,839 were registered in Nagaon district and the lowest 249 farmers in Kokrajhar district.

The Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department has taken an initiative to construct 110 godowns in rural areas under the Mega Mission Society Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana in different locations of the State, said the Minister in reply to a question by MLA Sirajuddin Ajmal.

Replying to another question by MLA Aminul Islam, the Minister said that under the One Nation One Ration Card, the department started a programme to set up 33,987 Electronic Point of Sale (e-POS) machines in Fair Price Shops of Assam.

The minister further informed that till March 23, the department has completed Aadhaar seeding of 44.31 percent of beneficiaries in the State. Among them, the highest 67.11 per cent of beneficiaries were covered in Dhubri district and the lowest 13.69 percent in karimganj district.