NEW DELHI: The UPA government on Friday expressed difficulty in implementing the National Food Security Bill , touted to bring in revolutionary changes in alleviating poverty, through an executive order prior to its approval by Parliament, saying it involved a cost of Rs 23,000 crore.

Given the pendency of a public interest litigation on right to food for more than a decade, the court had asked the Centre to examine the feasibility of implementing the National Food Security Bill provisions through an executive order.

Attorney general G E Vahanvati told a bench of Justices T S Thakur and F M I Kalifulla that if the government implemented the food security bill through an executive order, without appropriate budgetary provisions approved by Parliament, it would have serious financial implications.

"Implementation of the provisions of the National Food Security Bill will entail an additional financial implication on the central government of approximately Rs 23,000 crore on account of food subsidy. However, the exact amount of subsidy may vary depending upon the final shape of the bill as approved by the Parliament," Vahanvati said.

"Under the constitutional scheme, financial allocation can only be made by Parliament and sanction for the expenditure for implementation of the provisions of the bill can be made only after the enactment of the National Food Security Bill by Parliament," the ministry of consumer affairs said in an affidavit.

But the bench said the PIL by People's Union for Civil Liberties had gone on for more than 12 years. "All we wanted was implementation of the changes in the public distribution system administering mechanism, as suggested by the Justice D P Wadhwa committee," it said. Vahanvati said he would consult the government and get back with the response about implementing the administrative changes.

Among the changes suggested by the Wadhwa committee was nationalization of fair price shops run by private parties. The committee said fair price shops run by private individuals were "epicenters of corruption where shopowner, transporters, corrupt officials and politicians are hand in glove to cheat public".

The committee had suggested a civil supply corporation in each state to work as an independent body to distribute PDS foodgrain at fair price shop level and take over existing fair price shops. "Ideally, fair price shops should be run by state level corporations, panchayati raj institutions, cooperatives and registered women's self-help groups (SHGs). Fair price shops should not be run by private individuals. Wherever fair price shop is operated by private individuals, they should be phased out gradually and their place taken over by cooperatives or women SHGs," the committee had said.

The bill seeks to cover 75% of the rural population and 50% of urban population in the country. The latest calculation of Rs 23,000 crore towards food subsidy falls much short of initial estimates, which suggested that the subsidy could be upwards of Rs 1 lakh crore.

The bill envisages a minimum of 46% of the rural population and 28% urban population to be given 7 kg of foodgrains per month per person. Rice would be provided at Rs 3 a kg, wheat at Rs 2 and coarse grains at Re 1 a kg.

The rest of the targeted population would get 3 kg of grains per person per month at half the minimum support price offered to farmers by the government during procurement. Existing nutrition and select social security schemes were also envisaged to be brought under the proposed legislation as an entitlement.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com