[Reader-list] RTF (Right to Food) Articles - 5
Rakesh Iyer
rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com
Mon Aug 3 08:19:53 IST 2009
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 23, 2003 Group Publications Business Line The Sportstar Frontline
The Hindu
About Us <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/hindu.htm>
Contact Us <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/contact.htm> *Magazine *
Published on Sundays
Features: Magazine <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/index.htm>
| Literary
Review <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lr/index.htm> |
Life<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lf/index.htm>| Metro
Plus <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/index.htm> | Open
Page<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/op/index.htm>|
Education <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/edu/index.htm> | Book
Review<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/br/index.htm>|
Business <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/biz/index.htm> |
SciTech<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/index.htm>|
Entertainment <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/index.htm> | Young
World <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/yw/index.htm> |
Quest<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/quest/index.htm>|
Folio <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/folio/index.htm> |
Magazine <http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/index.htm>
[image: Printer Friendly
Page]<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2003032300590400.htm&date=2003/03/23/&prd=mag&>
[image:
Send this Article to a
Friend]<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/pgemail.pl?date=2003/03/23/&prd=mag&>
* Food for the hungry *
Using a public hearing to secure the right to information and to ensure
that the drought-stricken villagers get their due from the public
distribution system, activists are trying to redress the grievances of the
marginalised, writes AJIT BHATTACHARJEA, in the first of a fortnightly
column.
* Villagers, unaware of the programmes meant to help them, are struggling to
survive the drought. *
*Kelwada, Rajasthan: *
* *AT another time, the scene may have shown Rajasthan at its traditional
best. At Kelwada, an outpost of the fabled Rajasthan fortress of Kumbalgarh,
some 2,000 people were crowded under a *pandal*, traditionally dressed in a
kaleidoscope of colours. But this was no festival. They had assembled for a
unique *jan sunwai *(public hearing) on their right to food. Much of the
region was reeling under the worst drought in living memory. Five monsoons
had passed with little rain. Reservoirs had been reduced to puddles.
Most villagers came from nearby *panchayats*; others from distant parts of
the State. One contingent journeyed all the way from Baran to tell grim
tales of starvation deaths. All were crucially dependent on the public
distribution system (PDS) and network of schemes devised by the Rajasthan
Government to alleviate distress. The most vulnerable were listed as below
poverty line (BPL) and provided cards to buy 35 kg of food grains a month at
a subsidised price of Rs. 4.60 a kg. This provided for about half the cereal
needs of a household. Among them, the poorest were Bhil tribals, who could
seldom afford to buy their full quota.
More than a year ago, the obscene contrast between widespread hunger and
mounds of food grains stocked by the Food Corporation of India, some rotting
and eaten by rats, had impelled the Supreme Court to pass a series of orders
instructing governments to ensure effective implementation of food security
programmes. It had commented acidly: "Food grains which are overflowing in
the storage receptacles, especially of FCI godowns, and which are in
abundance, should not be wasted by dumping into the sea or eaten by rats.
Mere schemes without any implementation are of no use. What is important is
that food must reach the hungry."
The Kelwada *jan sunwai *was held the day after the Lok Sabha passed the
Freedom of Information Bill, largely the fruit of the campaign initiated by
the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan. Now MKSS was using
the same technique of public hearings to draw attention to the even more
basic right to food. For 10 days, its workers had conducted a survey of BPL
households in nearby *panchayats*.
But getting the villagers to speak out in Kelwada was difficult. Few were
aware of the schemes intended to help them. They came from remote areas
where subservience to local authority and those associated with it was
deep-rooted. This included some PDS dealers whose corruption had been
exposed by the survey. Several dealers and local officials attended *the jan
sunwai*. Before the *sunwai*, unpleasant rumours had been spread about the
MKSS. But its workers were strengthened by local awareness of the impact of
the *jan sunwai *in Janawad, not too far away. Officials found guilty of
corruption had been jailed. They were further strengthened by the Supreme
Court orders on right to food, of which they had extracts.
* At the Jan sunwai. *
The Kelwada *sunwai *began uncertainly and on a tense note. For 10 minutes,
nobody responded when villagers were invited to come up to the mike and
describe their problems. The dealers looked pleased. Eventually, a Bhil
walked up, thin but upright. He showed his BPL card and confirmed that they
were forced to pay Rs. five for a kg of food grain instead of the listed
rate of Rs. 4.60; that he had signed for the entire quota of 35 kg per
month, but had taken less.
Then others followed, women among them. All had serious complaints. PDS
shops opened at short notice once or twice a month. The cardholders did not
always have enough money to buy their quota. Sometimes they were even asked
to buy two months' ration at a time. The amount they could not buy was
diverted to the open market.
PDS dealers reacted angrily, but, when the charges were repeated, argued
that the commissions they received were inadequate. They could survive only
by making money on the side. Local officials admitted that this was the
case. One by one, the complaints pointed to administrative callousness and
commercial exploitation of the poor when their need was greatest. Many were
unaware of the programmes to which the Supreme Court had drawn attention.
The BPL list did not reflect those driven to destitution by the prolonged
drought. Drought relief works were inadequate and selectively allocated.
Those deserving pensions under existing programmes just to survive — widows,
the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable groups — had increased with
the drought but were not getting the money. Those who did often received it
after months; sometimes they were delivered too late.
But there was evidence that programmes could work if properly supervised.
Nobody complained against one particular scheme — MDM for midday meals to
school children. Some 70 lakh children were being fed with *ghoogri*, a
cooked meal of wheat and jaggery. The only problem voiced was that teachers
had to often spend time cooking.
After the *sunwai*, senior officials vowed to supervise the distress schemes
more closely. In Kelwada itself, pension officials promised to reorganise
their computerised schedules so as to pay pensions by the seventh of the
month, instead of after a month or two. Another *jan sunwai *may have to be
organised in the area to ensure that the commitments are fulfilled.
Two months after the Kumbalgarh *jan sunwai*, right to information
activists and their friends assembled at Beawar, to celebrate the success of
the movement that took off in this small town in southern Rajasthan, not far
from Kumbalgarh. Success lay in the passage of Right to Information
legislation by several States, including Rajasthan, and then by Parliament,
an achievement that few would have thought attainable at the 40-day *dharna
*that fuelled the movement in Beawar in 1995.
But the activists were not resting on their laurels. Led by Aruna Roy and
Nikhil Dey of the MKSS, they had organised another *jan sunwai* to check the
extent to which the legislation was being implemented and to map out future
activities. Rautram from Panchu *gram panchayat *in Bikaner District
testified that it had helped to secure information enabling them to expose
corruption in development works. However, others like Suresh Raghuvanshi
from the Asind *panchayat samiti *of Bhilwara District complained that
officials continued to deny access to information despite the legislation.
The Kumbalgarh *jan sunwai*, that had focussed on right to food, could claim
considerable success. Moti from Baran, the district that had reported
several starvation deaths in August last year, informed the gathering that a
youth organisation set up by Sankalp, a non governmental organisation, had
been successful in securing information about the quantity of food grains
alotted to BPL families in the area. Armed with this information, they met
local officials and ensured that it was distributed fairly and promptly.
The assembly decided to make right to work the focus of the movement and to
organise campaigns to secure the right to information where it was denied.
* *
Printer friendly
page<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2003032300590400.htm&date=2003/03/23/&prd=mag&>
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/pgemail.pl?date=2003/03/23/&prd=mag&>
Magazine <http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/index.htm>
Features: Magazine
<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/index.htm> | Literary
Review <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lr/index.htm> |
Life<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lf/index.htm>| Metro
Plus <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/index.htm> | Open
Page<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/op/index.htm>|
Education <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/edu/index.htm> | Book
Review<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/br/index.htm>|
Business <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/biz/index.htm> |
SciTech<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/index.htm>|
Entertainment <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/index.htm> | Young
World <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/yw/index.htm> |
Quest<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/quest/index.htm>|
Folio <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/folio/index.htm> |
Select Articles
- The wrestling-pit of public
debate<http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/stories/2003032300700100.htm>
- Should I stop watching
cricket?<http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/stories/2003032300090300.htm>
- Food for the
hungry<http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/stories/2003032300590400.htm>
- The question of
Indianness<http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2003/03/23/stories/2003032300690100.htm>
Archives
- Datewise <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/arcmag.htm>
- Issues <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/arc061.htm>
- Cuisine <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/arc031.htm>
- Travel <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/arc106.htm>
- Gardening <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/arc045.htm>
News
News Update <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/>
Front Page <http://www.hinduonnet.com/index.htm>
National <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/02hdline.htm>
Regional:
• Southern States <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/04hdline.htm>
• Other States <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/14hdline.htm>
International <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/03hdline.htm>
Opinion <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/05hdline.htm>
Business <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/06hdline.htm>
Sport <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/07hdline.htm>
Miscellaneous <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/10hdline.htm>
Index <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/99hdline.htm>
------------------------------
The Hindu Group: Home <http://www.hinduonline.com/> | About
Us<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/hindu.htm>|
Copyright <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/cpryt.htm> |
Archives<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/archives.htm>|
Contacts <http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/contact.htm> |
Subscription<http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/subsrate.htm>
Group Sites: The Hindu <http://www.hinduonnet.com/> | Business
Line<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/>| The
Sportstar <http://www.sportstaronnet.com/> |
Frontline<http://www.frontlineonnet.com/>| The
Hindu eBooks <http://www.hinduonnet.com/ebooks> |
Home<http://www.hinduonline.com/>|
Comments to : thehindu at vsnl.com Copyright © 2003, The Hindu
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are
expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu
------------------------------
More information about the reader-list
mailing list