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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | No grain but cash for Delhi poor by Tarun Nangia

No grain but cash for Delhi poor by Tarun Nangia

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published Published on May 24, 2011   modified Modified on May 24, 2011
The Sheila Dikshit government is ready to shut PDS shops in Delhi, ringing the death knell for not only the poor but also the middle class because black marketers will have a free run said Arvind Kejriwal, civil society activist and founder of Parivartan. Instead, the government proposes that Rs 1,000 be deposited in the bank accounts of the women of BPL families for buying foodgrain.

Even though PDS is not working well, the low price of PDS grains help contain market prices. In its absence, there would be no control on grain prices.

He said Sonia Gandhi through the National Advisory Council (NAC), wants PDS to enhance food cover for India’s poor, while the Congress government in Delhi is doing the opposite. Kejriwal alleged that in a meeting held at her office on May 18, Dikshit threatened members of civil society groups with arrest if they come in the way of the removal of PDS implementing the scheme. These groups argue food grains are inflation neutral, whereas cash only depreciates in value. Government claims corruption in PDS is rampant but activists say the corruption in cash-based schemes like widow pension, old-age pension, NREGA is more. Speaking on the Issue food and civil supplies minister Haroon Yusuf said that once the new cash based system in place, diversion of food grains will stop completely. Kejriwal said that Dikshit informed in the meeting that the government is implementing the project on basis of Delhi Government’s report, UNDP’s report and Sewa’s report. She claimed that all these reports claimed that Delhites wanted cash instead of rations. “We have never heard about SEWA’s report which is based on a survey of just 150 families in Delhi, which is miniscule compared to 4.5 lakh BPL and 10 lakh APL families who draw rations in the capital.” Kejriwal was denied permission to access the list. The RVSA has done a survey of 593 families and there is a glaring difference in the findings. SEWA’s report says, 60 per cent people want cash, RVSA’s report shows that 99 per cent people want PDS.  

“The Delhi government has already stopped rations of 100 families in Raghubir Nagar and are being given cash. Another 500 families will be included this month. When representatives of RVSA went to meet these families at Rahgubir nagar, they were stopped by representatives of SEWA,” said Kejriwal.

Santosh Kohli, a Parivartan representative present in the meeting said, “Why is the chief minister of Delhi bent on implementing this scheme. She said that the plan will be first implement it in Delhi and the planning commission will roll out the scheme across the country.”

Kejriwal questioned why the Planning Commission was forcing the scheme on the Delhi government. Kejriwal said, “World Bank representatives attend such meetings in the Planning Commission and UNDP’s representatives are present in full strength in all Delhi government meetings.”

Meanwhile the grain of truth remains hidden.

Express News Service, 22 May, 2011, http://expressbuzz.com/thesundaystandard/no-grain-but-cash-for-delhi-poor/276630.html


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