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News Alerts | IS RIGHT TO FOOD BILL FACING DILUTION?

IS RIGHT TO FOOD BILL FACING DILUTION?

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published Published on Aug 20, 2009   modified Modified on Aug 20, 2009

 

Civil Society activists and assorted rural experts are anxious that soon-to-be-launched Right to Food Bill might slip from its ambitious goal of nutrition security for all to a trite tokenism. The main worry is that cumulative effect of all the clauses, sub-clauses and small print must not stop short of making food available everywhere at all times so that no citizen sleeps hungry.

The worry is on many counts. The first and foremost is that the amount of food grains presently given to the BPL families and under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) must not be reduced from 35 kg at slightly higher prices (at Rs 4.15/- per kg for wheat and Rs 5.65/- per kg for rice for the BPL and Rs 2/- and Rs 3/- per kg under AAY) to 25 kg at Rs 3/- per kg. This is particularly so because rural incomes are falling, unemployment rising and more than half of the country is facing severe drought conditions.

It is also felt that the new Act must not abbreviate but expand the present entitlements such as those under the NREGA, for maternal nutrition and old age pensions which also work, together with food security, as anti starvation measures. Then there are the issues of special entitlements for the migrants, disabled and the infirm, as well as the out of school children and targeted schemes for the expectant mothers and newborn babies.

Apart from the entitlement part of the scheme the rural development experts are also anxious about the transparency and accountability of these schemes. That is why it is being felt that the Act will open floodgates of corruption unless backed up by inbuilt mechanisms of participation and social audits.

It is also argued that a large number of rural people keep drifting in and out of APL and BPL categories but it is understood that the bill is going to fix a person’s entitlement category for at least five years. Since the aim of food security is to attain nutrition security, elements of balanced diet, such as pulses, high nutrition millets (which also help farmers fight droughts), edible oils and some basic spices must also be included in the Right to Food bill.

The links below contain both sides of the story on Right to Food and some of the suggestions/ recommendations made by various experts:

Jean Dreze (2009), A Grain of Good Sense, Outlook, 20 July.

http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090720&fnam
e=JCol+Jean&sid=1

Brinda Karat (2009), For inclusive approach to food security, The Hindu, 30 June.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/30/stories/2009063060470800.htm

Reetika Khera (2009), Right to Food Act: Beyond Cheap Promises, Economic and Political Weekly, 18 July, 2009. Available online and attached.

http://epw.in/epw/uploads/articles/13728.pdf

Biraj Patnaik, How to Tackle India's Hunger, Live Mint, 2 July, 2009

http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/02205358/How-to-tackle-Ind
ia8217s-hu.htmlhttp://www.livemint.com/2009/07/02205358/Ho
w-to-tackle-India8217s-hu.html

M. S. Swaminathan, Synergy between Food Security Act and NREGA, June 1, 2009

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/01/stories/2009060153470800.htm

Harsh Mander (2009), Exiling Hunger from Every Home, The Hindu, 5 July

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/07/05/stories/2009070550070300.htm

Himanshu (2009), Cheaper Grains only one part of a Food Security Act, 24 July, Live Mint.

http://www.livemint.com/Articles/2009/06/23195210/Cheaper-
grain8217s-only-one.html


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