[Reader-list] Reg: Right to Food - Set 2

[Rakesh Iyer]

Views of two officers on Right to Food.

Link:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/is-universal-pds-a-good-idea/742837/0

Article:

Is universal PDS a good idea?

*THIRUVOIPATI NANDAKUMAR<http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/tnandakumar/>
**Tags : GDP growth<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/is-universal-pds-a-good-idea/742837/0>
, foodgrain distribution<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/is-universal-pds-a-good-idea/742837/0>
, Food Security
Act<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/is-universal-pds-a-good-idea/742837/0>
, National Advisory
Council<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/is-universal-pds-a-good-idea/742837/0>
**Posted: Fri Jan 28 2011, 22:53 hrs**
**How is better delivery expected by allocating more foodgrains, when the
system is not equipped to handle even the current level of allocation?

The debate about the proposed national food security act seems to be centred
on the magnitude of the allocation of food grains. But the issue is far
beyond only foodgrains. It is about improving health, sanitation and
nutrition standards so that India’s human development goals can be achieved.

Before enacting the Food Security Act, the government must ensure that the
existing mechanisms for the implementation of the targeted public
distribution system (TPDS), mid-day meal scheme, integrated child
development scheme and other related social schemes are improved upon. The
governments, both at the Centre and state, must ensure that deficiencies in
the delivery of these schemes are addressed before enacting the Food
Security Act. Even the current debate is mostly silent on these aspects.

Under the current system, are we delivering what we aim to? Are foodgrains
reaching the deserved population? Most of the time, the off take of
foodgrains by the states have been inefficient and far below allocation. How
is better delivery expected by allocating more foodgrains, when the system
is not equipped to handle even the current level of allocation?

There need of the hour is to empower the gram panchayats, district
administrations and state governments so the existing TPDS is implemented
efficiently. First, measures must be taken to curb leakages in foodgrains as
the current level of pilferage at 40-50% is unacceptable and unsustainable.
If the system doesn’t improve, what is the point of putting more foodgrains
under the same inefficient system? Does the Act take into account these
issues of malpractices in TPDS, where foodgrains allocated to poor families
enter the market illegally?

Another grey area is whether higher procurement by the Food Corporation of
India (FCI) for meeting the food security needs would lead to rise in prices
of rice and wheat in the open market. If the National Advisory Council’s
suggestion for higher procurement is implemented, in case of drought year or
a year during which there are inefficient rains, will the government import
to give subsidised foodgrains? Particularly in the regions such as
Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala, which are not self-sufficient, what
would be the impact on sourcing foodgrains? These factors need to debated,
discussed and studied before finalising the Act.

Besides, the Act’s impact on the overall agricultural production is another
key issue that has not been given enough attention. With the majority of
villagers receiving subsidised food grains, would farmers have enough
incentive to produce more when they are aware that getting highly subsidised
food grains is their right? It may have an adverse impact on the overall
agricultural production.

There have been reports about shortage of workforces during sowing and
harvesting seasons because of the MGNREGA. The Food Security Act, in its
current form, may have similar adverse consequence on the agricultural
sector. Pushing for a rights-based approach often obligates the state
without looking at the adverse consequences on the market. The government is
already grappling with rising inflation and any further increases in food
prices of the Act would be bad for the overall economy. Thus, the need of
the hour is to look at aspects to increase the overall human development
index rather narrowing the debate on only foodgrain allocation.

—The author is former secretary, department of agriculture and cooperation,
ministry of agriculture

(As told to Sandip Das)

------------------------------

Alok Sinha

Suppose the Act envisages an annual distribution of 60 mt of foodgrain. Even
if 20% is misused through ghost ration cards, about 50 mt will reach the
needy

India has seen rapid GDP growth in the last 5 to 10 years and the country
seems to be shining, with the growth rate approaching 9%. The middle-class
is smiling because, for them, the prices of the items they buy are not going
up at the same rate as the essential commodities needed by the majority of
the population.

Now, if we say that the middle-class constitutes about 25% of the
population, then the rest coincides with the 77% that the Arjun Sengupta
commission said exists on less than $1 a day. There is no doubt that as far
as three-quarters of the population is concerned, we are malnourished.
Therefore, the National Advisory Council did the right thing in declaring
six to eight months back that there should be food security for everyone.

Since then, there has been intellectual quibbling on how many Indians are
poor—whether it is 30% or 37% or 50%—and how many should be covered under
the food security legislation. Second, there has been a great amount of
intellectual quibbling on how much food is required through the public
distribution system (PDS) to feed this large segment of the population.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures 55-60 million tonnes (mt) of
foodgrains per year. If we have 60-70% of the population under the Food
Security Act, as some members of the NAC want, then what we need is about 65
mt of foodgrains—which means a shortfall of 5-10 mt a year.

Now, looking at the fact that our tax collections are jumping by leaps and
bounds, our GDP growth rate is approaching 9%, and foreign investment is
also on the rise, there is no doubt that government treasuries have the
money and strength to import 5-10 mt of foodgrains per year. Therefore, both
in terms of the quantity of foodgrains and the money required, it is not a
hopeless task; it can be done.

If we have a food security system, then it is of prime importance that we
should have a good PDS. The PDS in many parts of the country is in shambles.
It is in shambles because wherever the Panchayati Raj system hasn’t taken
root, there is no way for cardholders to keep an eye on where the fair price
shops (FPS) is, how much grain it is getting, does it have ghost ration
cards and are the foodgrains received from the state food department via FCI
being distributed fairly and ethically.

One way to ensure this would be to make the gram sabha fully accountable and
responsible to see that the FPSs work well. If that happens, then, suppose
the Food Security Act envisages an annual distribution of 60 mt of foodgrain
and of that 20% is misused through ghost ration cards, even then about 50 mt
will have been distributed to the needy and the country’s malnourishment
levels would be reduced.

We should not shy away from food security, we should not keep tom-toming
that subsidising is bad because we have had economic liberalisation since
1991. Because wheat and rice have been subsidised, procured by FCI and
distributed through PDS, the price curve of wheat and rice has not been
zig-zag as in the case of vegetables and fruits. It has had a steady rise in
the same way that our wages have had a steady rise. Subsidised procurement
and distribution of foodgrains would ultimately lead to a healthy economy
for everyone concerned, not merely for the middle class.

—The author is former chairman and managing director, Food Corporation of
India

(As told to Chanpreet Khurana)

*


On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 2:06 AM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Link:
>
> Article:
>
> Right to food: ‘Authorities look to hide poverty, not address it’
>
> *Atikh Rashid <http://www.indianexpress.com/columnist/atikhrashid/>**Tags
> : Poverty <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/right-to-food-/805005>, Right
> to Food <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/right-to-food-/805005>, R K
> Gaikwad <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/right-to-food-/805005>, Anant
> Phadke <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/right-to-food-/805005>, BPL<http://www.indianexpress.com/news/right-to-food-/805005>
> **Posted: Fri Jun 17 2011, 02:38 hrs**Pune:**
> **
>
> Right to Food activists have alleged that the government was, in the garb
> of ‘Garibi hatao’, pursuing the agenda of ‘Garibi Chhupao’. They said the
> assumption that only those having a spending ability of Rs 20 a day in urban
> areas and Rs 15 a day in rural areas are poor was a cruel joke. They have
> demanded implementation of the Wadhwa Committee recommendations.
>
>  Right to Food Campaign, Pune district, (Ann Adhikar Abhiyan), on Thursday
> staged a demonstration in front of the Collector’s office. A delegation from
> the RFC met additional collector R K Gaikwad, who assured them that local
> issues about the rationing system would be solved in the next two-three
> months and a followup of the Jan-Sunwai (public hearing) organised by the
> RFC will be done. He also promised a joint meeting with the District Supply
> Officer and Food Distribution Officer.
>
>  Dr Anant Phadke of Right to Food Campaign said, “When various surveys
> conducted by government itself are coming up with results indicating fragile
> health of women and saying that every year about 100 children die due to
> malnutrition, the government’s stubbornness to show the world that there is
> no poverty in the country is ridiculous.”
>
>  An affidavit filed by the Planning Commission in the Supreme Court
> defined a BPL family as one that spends less than Rs 779 a month in urban
> areas and Rs 447 a month in rural areas. A family spending above this limit
> is considered above poverty line. In the given spending limits, is it not
> possible to live, forget about living honorably. Activists said if this was
> the criterion to decide poverty, then surely it would throw crores of poor
> families out of the BPL cover. RFC activists demanded that the guiding
> principles for allotment of the fair price shops be revised, a vigilance
> committee should be formed at every fair price shop with mandatory
> representation of women in them, ensure that the ration reaches the fair
> price shops at the beginning of every month besides an SMS to beneficiaries
> that the ration has arrived in the shops.
>
> *
>



-- 
Rakesh Krishnamoorthy Iyer
MM06B019
Final Year, Dual Degree Student
Dept. of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
IIT Madras, Chennai - 600036
Phone no: +91-9444073884
E-mail ID: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com