The Cabinet will discuss the National Food Security Bill, 2011, on Monday, in a bid to introduce the proposed legislation in the current session of Parliament.

Food minister K V Thomas on Friday said discussions on the food Bill in the Cabinet which was deferred earlier this week would continue on Monday. ?Discussions will continue when the Cabinet meets on Monday,? he told reporters.

Thomas said after the Cabinet approves the Bill, the food ministry would try to introduce it in the winter session of Parliament.

On the objections raised by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the ?huge financial commitments? required for the food bill, Thomas said, ?That is why the Cabinet is looking into it as a huge financial commitment is involved. So, naturally, the Cabinet has to look into it,? he said. The food subsidy Bill is expected to cost the government Rs 93,000 crore annually, up from the current level of Rs 63,000 crore.

The food minister had also held meetings with several Cabinet colleagues for addressing the concern raised about the financial viability of the food Bill, which aims at providing subsidised foodgrains to two-thirds of country?s population.

Meanwhile, the CPM on Friday said the legislation was ?unacceptable? and demanded that it must include as ?universal right? the provision of at least 35 kg of foodgrains at Rs two a kg.

?It appears the Centre wants to utilise the widespread demand for a strong Food Security Bill to push through narrow agendas of those agribusinesses and corporates who want dismantling of the public distribution system (PDS) and a truncated Food Security Bill,? the party politburo said in a statement.

As reported by FE, several state governments, including those ruled by the Congress, have complained to the food ministry about the negative impact of the Bill on their already-stretched finances.

Bihar, for instance, has termed the Bill as ?unilaterally imposed, creating a substantial financial burden on the state government?.

Kerala, which has a Congress-led government, had also raised apprehensions about the likely financial burden on the state from the food security law. ?The expenditure would make a serious dent on the state?s finances and can make the implementation of food security Bill unviable,? food, civil supplies and consumer affairs secretary of Kerala T K Manoj Kumar had said. West Bengal has also endorsed the stand taken by the Kerala government.

The food Bill aims to provide 75 per cent of the rural households with subsidised grains. Of these, ?at least? 46 per cent households would be considered as ?priority? category and each person in these households will get 7 kg of grain a month at subsidised rates ? Rs 2 for a kg of rice, Rs 3 for wheat and Re 1 for coarse grains.

In urban centres, of 50 per cent of the total households will be covered under the bill, ?at least? 28 per cent would get ?priority? status. The priority households in the urban areas would get ?at least? 3 kg of subsidised grains per person per month