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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | National Food Security Bill to be affected by lack of human resources by Devika Banerji

National Food Security Bill to be affected by lack of human resources by Devika Banerji

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published Published on Nov 17, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 17, 2011

The government's ambitious Socio-economic and Caste Census 2011, the bedrock for many social schemes, is facing a human resource crisis that is likely to delay not only the survey, but also many big-ticket electoral promises of the UPA government, such as the National Food Security Bill.

To salvage the situation, the rural development ministry, which is executing the census through state governments, recently approached the Registrar General of India (RGI) for additional manpower. However, the RGI could not spare people as it is currently preoccupied with the decennial National Census and population register activities.

"It has become a bit of a trouble for the ministry as there aren't enough data collectors and enumerators. Training is not being done and this is leading to high irregularities in data collection," a state rural development official said.

The socio- economic and caste survey (SECC) came into prominence after a joint decision was taken by the Planning Commission and the Rural Development Ministry to do away with the state-wise poverty caps for social entitlements. The alternative provided by the SECC was to rank households as per to deprivation indicators and give access to entitlements, particularly food, accordingly.

Adding to the troubles of the ministry are the upcoming election in Uttar Pradesh and the disruption in the supply of handheld devices by Bharat Electricals.

The census was slated to be completed by December 2011, however, given the current pace of activity, the survey is likely to extend to April 2011. Census activities have started in around 10 states with significant progress made only in Chhattisgarh, Punjab and the union territories. Most states in North, which have the highest concentration of poor, have not yet initiated the census.

"It seems that we will be able to complete the survey only by April next year or so," said a Planning Commission official.

The RGI is already assisting the rural development ministry with the SECC, primarily by sharing National Population Register (NPR) details and providing training to state enumerators. However, the capacity of the RGI is limited as it cannot make use of school teachers, who work for the National Census, for the SECC.

"There are many issues that are cropping up and they have asked for our assistance. But, we are limited by our activities. It would have suited us if the SECC was held next year," said an official in the office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

There are around 24 lakh enumeration blocks with 125 households each that are expected to be used for the survey. The optimal capacity for one enumerator is around 4 blocks or 500 households. At the current rate of availability, a single enumerator will have to average more than double the number of households to finish the survey by February.

Field observers have also noted that state-appointed enumerators are not making use of maps, observations are not being noted, incorrect data entries are not being rectified while in majority of cases questions related to disability, caste, and religion are asked from groups instead of individuals.

Field observers in Chhattisgarh say verification is not being done in the presence of gram sabha members and census officials and there is confusion in classification of castes and tribes.


The Economic Times, 18 November, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/national-food-security-bill-to-be-affected-by-lack-of-human-resources/articleshow/10774710.cms


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