Implementation of the Food Security Act in Odisha would depend largely on how early the State Government is in a position to finalise the list of beneficiaries, Union Food secretary Sudhir Kumar told reporters here after a meeting with senior officials at the State Secretariat here on Wednesday.

He said the Centre expects Odisha to implement the Act by July this year, but everything including the time frame would depend on the State Government, which is yet to notify the process of selecting beneficiaries.

“I have requested the competent authority through the Chief Secretary of the State to expedite the process,” Kumar said.

Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra, however, told reporters that the Act would be implemented in full across the State only after assessing the results of the pilot projects at selected places where the new system would be put to test.

“We will first see how beneficiaries will be selected and how ration cards will be issued on the basis of the new system,” he added. Food and Civil Supplies Secretary Madhusudan Padhi said the exact number of beneficiaries can be ascertained only after his department gets complete details of the excluded categories as well as the number of applications from the eligible beneficiaries.

The Food Security Act, which excludes Income Tax payers and Government servants from its purview, is aimed to benefit tribals and people from other weaker economic backgrounds including women who get widow pension. The beneficiaries would get rice at `3 a kg, wheat at `2 a kg and certain other food items at `1 a kg once the Act comes into force. Around 76 per cent of the State’s population is likely to get subsidised food after implementation of the Act, sources said.