Month: August 2013

AIZAWL, Aug 27 NNN : Mizo National Front (MNF) will create three new districts if the party comes to power after the next assembly elections.
Former Mizo militant leader and ex-chief minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga pledged that three new districts namely Hnathial, Saitual and Khawzawl will be created if the MNF comes to power.
“We must form the next government,” said MNF president while delivering a speech at South Tuipui MNF Block-I Conference.
It can be recalled here that the MNF had announced to create the new three districts during its last regime but failed to materialise it.
“This time, we will not fail to create the three new districts,” Zoramthanga said. The former militant leader said during the MNF regime, it was in the process of creating the three new districts “but our tenure got over.”
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party is heavily depending on the state government’s pilot project the New Land Use Policy (NLUP) as its vote plank in the run-up to the forthcoming assembly polls likely to be held in November.
Chief minister of Mizoram Lal Thanhawla has been making tall claims of relieving the poor farmers in the state by the New Land Use Policy (NLUP).
So far, over one lakh families have already benefitted from the state government pilot project NLUP and by October this year 1,22,000 families will be benefitted altogether.
Each beneficiaries are given money ranging anything from Rs 50,000 to 1,50,000 depending on the type and nature of work they undertake.
Reports said the people especially the poor section of the people in the state are happy with the NLUP and the Mizoram government knows it well.
According to the reports, the Lal Thanhawla led Congress government in Mizoram is projecting itself as the pro-poor government and its successful implementation of the NLUP has been posted the ample proof.
NLUP is a pilot project of the Congress led Mizoram government under the leadership of chief minister Lal Thanhawla. Under this scheme, the government of Mizoram attempts to provide alternative means of livelihood to the farmers who are heavily dependent on jhumming which is detrimental to the environment.
Piggery, bee-keeping, fish-farming, grape-cultivation etc., etc., are some of the fields the government is encouraging the local people to pursue by providing financial assistance.
Meanwhile, the main Opposition party in Mizoram, the Mizo National Front (MNF) is giving maximum effort to re-establish its pro-Mizo centric political party. The MNF under former militant leader and ex-chief minister Zoramthanga has been accusing the Lal Thanhawla led Congress government as ‘very corrupt’. However, whether this old-fashion policy of attacking the rival party will be bought by the commoners, is unsure in the poll-bound Mizoram.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/three-new-districts-at-mizoram-mnf/

New Delhi, Aug 26 (ANI): UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday urged lawmakers to clear her party’s flagship Food Security welfare scheme to provide cheap food to nearly 70 percent of India.
“We have a chance to create history with this bill. So, my humble appeal is that we, as representatives of people, must make this Bill into an Act,” she told members of the Lok Sabha.
Speaking first in Hindi and then in English, she described the opportunity to make the Bill into Law as a historic moment, and said her party is delivering on an earlier promise made to the country.
“In 2009, we had promised to come out with a food security bill, and I am extremely happy to say that we are fulfilling the promise we had made,” Gandhi said.
“There are people who ask whether we have the means to implement this
scheme, I would like to say that we have to figure out the means. The question is not whether we can do it or not. We have to do it,” she added.
Stating that a clear message is being sent out today that India is taking care of providing food to all of its citizens, Gandhi said: “We are ensuring that no child will be malnourished. It’s an opportunity that we are providing food security to all. It will also ensure a stop to food grain wastage.”
Earlier, initiating the debate on the UPA government’s landmark Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha, Food Minister K.V Thomas on Monday said the bill would ensure more transparency and accountability in the PDS system
Food Security Bill ensures more transparency and accountability in the PDS system, Thomas said, adding, that the number of persons to be covered by the Food Security Bill will be based on the 2011 census.
“This bill will also enhance accountability and transparency. In the current PDS system, there is at least 20-30 percent leakage which leads to black marketing. We have made provisions for the setting up of vigilance committees that will monitor the distribution of supplies and make sure the right people get them,” he said.
“We have also put in a clause by which a government servant will be punished if he/she found to be involved in squandering of the supply or if the distribution is not done properly,” he added.
The National Food Security Bill is a historic initiative for ensuring food and nutritional security to the people. It gives a right to the people to receive adequate quantity of foodgrains at affordable prices.
The Bill has a special focus on nutritional support to the poorest of the poor , women and children.
In case of non-supply of foodgrains, the deprived will get a food security allowance. The Bill also provides for grievance redressal mechanism and penalty for non -compliance by a public servant or authority. Under the plan, the government will sell subsidised wheat and rice to 67 percent of its 1.2 billion population.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/food-security-bill-is-indias-chance-to-make-history-sonia-gandhi/