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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Massive Demo against "DBT for food subsidy" in Jharkhand

Massive Demo against "DBT for food subsidy" in Jharkhand

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published Published on Feb 27, 2018   modified Modified on Feb 27, 2018
-Press Release from Right to Food Campaign dated 26 February, 2018

Ranchi: Thousands of people – men and women, young and old – walked all the way from Nagri Block towards the Chief Minister’s House in Ranchi today to demand an immediate end to the “DBT for food subsidy” experiment in Nagri. They were prevented from reaching the CM’s house, but they did reach the Governor’s house where they held a massive street meeting and submitted a memorandum to the Governor.

Under the DBT system, launched in early October 2017 in Nagri, the food subsidy is credited to people’s bank account, so that they can use it to buy rice at the ration shop at Rs 32/kg. Earlier, they were able to buy rice from the ration shop at Re 1 per kg.

The pilot has caused immense hardship for users of the public distribution system (PDS) in Nagri. They have repeatedly protested against the DBT pilot at the block and district headquarters, but their demand has fallen on deaf ears. Instead of heeding people’s demand for a return to the earlier system (Re 1/kg rice at the ration shop), the government has claimed – against all evidence - that the experiment is a success and should be extended it across the state. If this happens, it will exacerbate hunger and undernutrition in Jharkhand.

At the street meeting, many victims of the DBT experiment in Nagri spoke about the hardships they face - Rashmi Tirkey, Neelu Tigga, Hindiya Oraon, among others. They said that they have to spend up to a week to withdraw each instalment DBT money. They have to make repeated trips to the bank and Pragya Kendra (business correspondent), often 5 to 10 km away, to withdraw their cash subsidy. At every step, there are long queues. They often return empty handed, e.g. due to connectivity failures or problems with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. Many people have to forego their daily wages to collect their DBT subsidy.

Representatives of the opposition parties addressed the gathering. Subhash Munda of Communist Party of India (Marxist) saluted the solidarity of Ration Bachao Manch, the broad coalition of opposition parties and people’s organisations that called for this padyatra. Bhuneshwar Kewat (CPI ML) said that in the DBT system, if cardholders are unable to buy their ration, they are threatened with the cancellation of their ration card. Congress representative Prem Prakash Shahdeo commented that the DBT scheme has caused so much inconvenience that it has forced people of Nagri to walk for hours to make their voices heard. The DBT system forces people to make repeated trips to the bank, often foregoing their wages or spending on transport. Nand Kishore Mehta of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha said that if the Jharkhand government does not withdraw the DBT system, Ration Bachao Manch will intensify its agitation. Einul Haq of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha said Nagri has become a hotbed for the government’s misguided experiments – be it that of a cashless economy or “DBT for food subsidy”. Representatives of Communist Party of India also joined the protest.

Members of people’s organisations also extended their solidarity with the people of Nagri. Dayamani Barla of Adivasi Moolvasi Astitva Raksha Manch said that the attack on Jharkhand’s PDS started with the mandatory linkage of ration cards with Aadhaar. Afzal Anil of United Mili Forum recalled that in the past six months, at least seven persons in Jharkhand had died due to starvation. Taramani Sahu of Right to Food Campaign exposed the government’s disconnect with reality by displaying a recent news item in which the Chief Minister claimed that the DBT for food subsidy pilot will benefit the people of Jharkhand. Nadeem Khan of All India People’s Forum Jharkhand condemned the Food Minister’s allegation that the rally organisers were playing politics, and said that if defending people’s rights is politics then we stand for politics. Other organisations that participated in the protest include All India Kisan Sabha, Jharkhand Jan Sanskriti Manch, Ekta Parishad, Bagaicha, Jharkhand Nagrik Prayas Manch, National Federation of Indian Women and Jharkhand Mahila Jagriti Hazaribagh.

Please click here to access the letter, which was addressed to the Governor of Jharkhand.

Please click here to access the key findings of the survey of households that was conducted in Nagri block.

For further information, please contact Jean Drèze (9471130049) or Ankita Aggarwal (9470124355). Follow #RationBachao on Twitter and Facebook for more updates on the padyatra and the Nagri “DBT for food subsidy” pilot.

Press Release from Right to Food Campaign, 26 February, 2018,


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