Bhubaneswar: With about 20 lakh people yet to be struck down from the list of beneficiaries, Odisha government today said it would implement the National Food Security Act from November 1 instead of October 1.
The programme will be implemented in two phases, said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department secretary M S Padhi.
While it will be implemented in 10 districts in the first phase on November 1, the second and final phase will start from December 1. The entire state would be covered under the NFSA by end of 2015, he said.
Explaining the reason behind the delay in implementing the programme in Odisha, Padhi said it was taking time to delete the names of lakhs of ineligible applicants.He said the process to exclude them was on and till date 51 lakh ineligible applicants have been struck off from the list.
Officials said a large number of people who do not meet the eligibility criteria have registered their names for availing benefits under the NFSA in the state while the Centre has allowed the state to provide benefits to 3.26 crore people of the state's total population of 4.21 crore.
Meanwhile, the state government has suspended about 60 employees on charges of violation of NFSA norms. About 2.5 lakh employees have so far opted out of the NFSA list, the officials said.
