New policy excludes MPs, chairmen from Food Friendly Programme's upazila bodies
In the previous policy, formulated by the Awami League government in 2017, lawmakers served as chief advisers, while upazila chairmen were designated as advisers to the committees
Highlights
- Beneficiaries will be screened; a new list will be published
- Updated list will be made available at Union Digital Center
- Dealers will also be recruited afresh
- Current benefits will not be increased
- Number of beneficiaries may increase
- Total number of beneficiaries now 50 lakh
The interim government has introduced a new policy for the Food Friendly Programme, excluding parliamentarians and upazila chairmen from the upazila-level committees across the country.
In the previous policy, formulated by the Awami League government in 2017, lawmakers served as chief advisers, while upazila chairmen were designated as advisers to the committees.
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Asked about the changes, Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder told The Business Standard today (1 January), "In the current context, lawmakers and upazila chairmen have been excluded. Since there are currently no members of parliament or upazila chairmen, including them would leave the committees incomplete. This is why the policy has been designed to exclude them.
"Later, when a new government takes office, it can include lawmakers and upazila chairmen in the committees through an executive order if deemed necessary."
According to the food ministry, committees have been formed at the union, upazila and district levels nationwide under the new policy. The process of screening and selecting new beneficiaries as well as appointing dealers is underway.
The policy prioritises low-income villagers, landless individuals, daily wage earners, agricultural workers and those unable to earn. Special priority will be given to widows, divorcees, abandoned children, destitute elderly women, distressed families with children and people with disabilities.
The updated policy was published on the website of the food ministry on 14 October 2024.
The ministry aims to finalise the new list of beneficiaries by 15 January.
A report by the food department, a copy of which was seen by TBS, states that over 49.53 lakh people are receiving benefits under the food-friendly programme nationwide. In 2021, 46,615 individuals were added to the programme.
Beneficiaries receive 30kg of rice per family during two phases – March-April and September-November – covering five months each year. The government has set the current price of rice under this programme at Tk15 per kg.
A senior official of the food ministry, speaking anonymously, alleged that under the previous political government, many ineligible individuals were included as beneficiaries for political reasons.
"The current government plans to remove ineligible beneficiaries and include those who meet the criteria under the new policy. The ministry believes that after these adjustments the actual number of beneficiaries will remain around 50 lakh," he told TBS.
The updated list of beneficiaries will be published at the Union Digital Center, in line with previous procedures, he added.
Talking to TBS yesterday, Food Secretary Md Masudul Hasan said, "Information is being gathered nationwide. If the data show a need to increase the number of beneficiaries, adjustments will be made. However, the current benefits provided will remain unchanged, and there are no plans to increase them at this time."
The National Food Policy was formulated in 2006.
In 2016, a commitment to achieve No Poverty and Zero Hunger as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was announced.
To meet these goals and ensure food security for the rural poor, the Food Friendly Programme was introduced in the government distribution system. In 2016, the government began distributing food grains through cards at a fixed price at the union level for the poorest. The first "Food-Friendly Programme Policy-2017" was introduced to refine the policy.
Under the programme, the government provides rice to the poor at subsidised prices. The current national budget allocates a Tk3,258 crore subsidy for food-friendly programmes, with the subsidy expected to rise due to increasing rice prices.
The new policy also raises the security deposit for dealer appointments from Tk20,000 to Tk25,000, with the term of dealers set at five years.
