The Food Security Act will replace the Public Distribution System for subsidies in Kerala.
Many in the food deficit Kerala fear that implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) - which will replace the current Public Distribution System - will revoke their right to subsidised food grains.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the only two states which have not yet implemented the NFSA, passed by the Parliament in 2013.
Kerala relies on the state PDS that divides the population into categories of Below Poverty Line (BPL), Above Poverty Line (APL) and people covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), all receiving subsidised ration.
But the NFSA aims to abolish the APL and BPL criteria and uniformly provide 5 kg of wheat or rice to the beneficiaries - linked through Aadhaar Card - every month at a subsidised rate of Rs 1-3 per kg.
55-year-old Shirley, a widow and a mother of two is unable to sustain a job because of a medical condition which does not allow her to walk or stand for long hours. Her family is categorised under APL because of their inheritance of a house. However, their low monthly income has made them dependent on the subsidised grains.
"We don't have the income to buy food from the market. We won't be able to survive. I can't even work. Government has to do something," she said, fearing the NFSA will repeal her family's subsidy benefits that allows them to buy 10 kg ration at Rs 2 per kg under the state PDS.
Under the NFSA, households with a constructed house covering over 1000 sq. ft. in an urban area are excluded.
Kerala grows less than 15% of the food it consumes. For decades the state through PDS has focused on a providing free or heavily subsidised food grains to approximately 58% of the population. But under the new Food Security Act, many APL families are likely to lose the ration subsidy because many families in Kerala who own a house don't have a steady income.
Kerala's Finance Minister Thomas Issac told NDTV that the new NFSA does not meet the state's requirement. "We will have to ensure that no one who enjoys any form of concessionary rights is left out. We are looking into how we can ensure this."
The Kerala government, earlier this month, also passed a resolution urging the centre to reconsider its cut in subsidised food grain supplies which it said would affect over 62 lakh APL families.