VoL Desk, June 03: Government employees have been recently excluded from the ration entitlement under the new Ladakh Food Security Rules 2023, which were published in the Ladakh Gazette. This rule is expected to affect approximately 10-12 thousand households that include government employees. However, public representatives have voiced their opposition to the new rule, urging a reconsideration in the best interest of the general public.

The draft of this rule was made available for stakeholder suggestions on March 15, 2023, and came into effect after its publication in the official gazette of Ladakh. The power to establish rules related to food security in the Union Territory of Ladakh lies with the Lieutenant Governor, as per subsection 01 of section 40 of the National Food Security Act.

According to the inclusion and exclusion guidelines outlined in section 01 of section 03 of the act, identified priority household cardholders under the target public distribution system .these priority card holders receive 5kg of subsidized food grains per person per month. The criteria for exclusion, as stated in section 01 of section 03, include households with at least one income tax-paying member; businesses with an annual turnover of 25 lakh rupees; persons holding 10 kanal in individual case and 20 kanal in joint families case in urban area; and in rural area 30 kanal and 50 kanal respectively. Additionally, households with retired government servants receiving pensions, households in the regular service of state government, central government, public sector undertakings, banks, corporations, boards, autonomous bodies, army, CAPF, and individuals holding constitutional authority are also excluded.

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When Voice of Ladakh approached the Assistant Director of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Kargil, for comment, he declined to respond. Congress opposition councilor in LAHDC Kargil, Nasir Munshi, expressed his concerns about the exploitative nature of this rule. He stated that the UT administration has been consistently implementing exploitative rules since the formation of UT Ladakh, whether related to land, employment, or now, food security.

Munshi pointed out that this rule seems to have been copied and pasted from other states in India without considering Ladakh’s unique topography, culture, and socio-economic conditions. He emphasized that this rule will not only impact gazetted officials but also low-paid government workers and pensioners, ultimately affecting the entire society. Munshi urged the government to reconsider the rule; otherwise, he warned that people will no longer remain silent and will take active action against the administration.