LONGDING, 23 Jun: The Arunachal Pradesh State Food Commission (APSFC) reviewed the schemes under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Longding district on Monday.
Chairing the meeting held at the DC’s conference hall, APSFC Chairman Tarh Tarak presented a briefed on various region-specific challenges gathered during his current tour of the districts, and ensured that all these issues would be raised with the government. He assured of continued efforts by the commission in line with the principles of ‘Antyodaya’.
Longding Deputy Commissioner Kunal Yadav apprised the commission of the good practices and the mechanisms in place in the district for proper monitoring and supervision concerning nutritional and food security schemes.
APSFC member Ngasah Tangjang gave a brief overview on the origins of the NFSA 2013 and the State Food Commission. Tangjang described the commission as a watchdog and a bridge between the public and the government concerning food and nutritional security schemes.
DFCSO Lige Bam provided an overview of the fair price shops (FPSs) in the district and the activities related to monsoon preparedness.
Challenges related to transportation difficulties from the FCI warehouse situated in Deomali in Tirap district were also highlighted during the meeting.
The DMO and the DDSE delivered presentations on the Janani Suraksha Yojana and the Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme, respectively.
The DDSE presented an overview of the enrolment figures and the number of schools covered under the Poshan scheme.
Special mention was made of Mission LUNCH (Longding Udyan for Nutrition & Children’s Health), a brainchild of the DC, in collaboration with the DDSE and the KVK. The scheme has been largely successful in creating school kitchen gardens of locally grown seasonal vegetables.
Ensuring no pendency in grievances within the district, Longding ADC-cum-DGRO RK Rai highlighted the challenges anticipated in grievance redressal due to lack of staff strength.
During the meeting, various concerns were raised,including infrastructure maintenance issues regarding warehouses, lack of financial incentives for cook-cum-helper under the Poshan scheme; state of home-run anganwadis, and lack of officers/officials in the district.
Rationalisation of FPSs from excess to deficit areas was suggested in order to make access more uniform throughout the district. (DIPRO)
