Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]interviews/jean-dreze-development-economist-interviewed-by-vaibhav-vats-4118.html"/> Interviews | Jean Dreze, Development Economist interviewed by Vaibhav Vats | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Jean Dreze, Development Economist interviewed by Vaibhav Vats

The Food Security Act was UPA-2’s flagship programme. Jean Dreze, member of the National Advisory Council, has publicly criticised the government. He tells VAIBHAV VATS what’s gone wrong.

Much like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the first term of the United Progressive Alliance, the Food Security Act was its most ambitious social welfare programme. Since discussions on the Act in the National Advisory Council began, its provisions have consistently been diluted under attempts by the government to narrow its scope and vision.

The draft Bill, submitted last week by the NAC to the government, falls way short of its promise. This prompted Jean Dreze to call it a “minimalist programme” and ask: why not food security for all? Excerpts from an interview in which the development economist and author explains how the government is reneging on its commitment to the poor:

What is wrong with the NAC proposal?

This proposal is very patchy and limited. As far as the PDS (public distribution system) is concerned, it does not go much beyond what is already there. This year, the government is releasing nearly 50 million tonnes of food under the PDS. The NAC proposal implies that this would rise to 60 million tonnes or so as the Act is gradually extended to the whole country.

The basic framework would remain much the same. Is that a radical departure in food policy? “More of the same” is also the gist of the non-PDS proposals. Remember, this is supposed to be a ‘National Food Security Act’, not a PDS Act. The initial idea was a comprehensive Act that also covers child nutrition programmes, maternity benefits, social security pensions and other entitlements that have an important bearing on food security. A new beginning was particularly important in the field of child care, which is the foundation of good nutrition for all. All these entitlements, however, have been progressively diluted under pressure.

Why has it been watered down?

The government asked the NAC to prepare a Food Security Bill, but initially wanted it to be “fiscally neutral”. This makes no sense. Four months down the line, there has been some give and take on both sides, but the government had the upper hand.

Why do you think a targeted PDS won’t work?

Targeting is unreliable and divisive. This is well established. At least three independent surveys (the National Sample Survey, the National Family Health Survey and the India Human Development Survey) show that about half of all poor households in rural India did not have a BPL (Below Poverty Line) card in 2005. The identification of poor families can be improved, but ultimately, it is bound to be a hit-or-miss affair. When it comes to food security, “exclusion errors” are really unacceptable — everyone has a right to be protected from hunger.

I think that the middle class has completely lost track of how poor this country is. We live in a make-believe world that exists only on television and small islands of privilege. That was the message of late Arjun Sengupta’s striking figure, that 77 percent of Indians live on less than Rs. 20 a day. The figure was not exactly right, but even if it was, say, 5 percent off the mark, the basic message remains. Are we saying that anyone who has more than Rs. 20 a day should be excluded from the PDS?

What is stopping the government from universalising the PDS?

The government claims that the food requirements are too high, but this is a red herring. (Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission) Montek Singh Ahluwalia himself told the NAC, in a different context, that “no situation is known to have arisen where money was there but food was lacking”. So, it is actually a question of willingness to pay. When it comes to corporate-friendly projects, the sky is the limit.

The Planning Commission is proudly talking of “infrastructural investment” to the tune of $1 trillion in the 12th Plan, about half of that would be public money. $1 trillion! That’s astronomical: nearly 10 percent of GDP, year after year. But for food security, 1 percent of GDP is considered extravagant — that’s not “investment”.

What can be done about the rotting foodgrain?

There are many ways of making good use of it. For instance, one could use it (I mean, the excess stock, not the “rotting” grain) to support a universal PDS in drought-affected districts. Many districts are facing massive crop failures for the second year in a row, and reports of starvation deaths are already pouring in. In Jharkhand’s Palamau, for instance, distress migration has begun, and people have been blocking the roads to demand food. Universalising the PDS in these districts would be a very sensible thing to do, as a drought relief measure. It can be done very quickly, too. Aside from protecting people from starvation, this could be a great experiment in PDS reform, in the run-up to the Food Security Act.

Do you think that UPA-2 has less will and vision than UPA-1?

The attitude of UPA-1 was not very different when it came to social policy. Remember, the NAC draft of the employment guarantee Act was severely diluted by the government before it was tabled in Parliament, and it was only after a long campaign that the draft was repaired. This time, the government is prepared, and is trying to pre-empt “unreasonable” proposals right from the beginning. Also, the Left parties are not there to keep the government on its toes. So, the circumstances are a little different, but the attitude is much the same — keep the poor in check and hand over to the CEOs.


Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 44, 6 November, 2010, http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ne061110T
he_middle_class.asp