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Food Security Ordinance Is Exclusive And Lacks Commitment To Fight Hunger

By Soma S. Marla

22 July, 2013
Countercurrents.org

UPA Government on Wednesday decided to issue an ordinance to provide long sought food security to the poor of the nation. Brushing aside objections from political parties, NGOs and academia the Government has chosen to take the ordinance route just weeks before the scheduled Monsoon session of Parliament. Though the intention of the ordinance appears to be good from surface, serious objections are raised as the proposed ordinance as the programme lacks universality (does not cover all all deserving poor) but excludes vast sections of the population both from urban and rural India.

As claimed by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of UPA the basic objective of the proposed Food Security Bill is to address the acute problems of hunger and malnutrition. It is being projected as one-of –its-kind , seeking to make the right to subsidized food grains legal, it has to be comprehensive. But the bill in its present form with its exclusionary criteria is far from comprehensive. That’s why Left and other political parties want the Bill to be debated in Parliament before being passed so as to make it genuine programme to fight hunger and provide food security. The Bill, in its present form, addresses nothing except making a cosmetic change from already existing schemes and appears like yet another vote catching populist election gimmick.

Despite of having a number of food intervention schemes, the malnourishment remains an everyday reality in India. Most childhood deaths are mainly attributed to malnutrition. One in every four persons is malnourished and one in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. It requires a firm political commitment in fighting hunger and malnutrition in systematic way and to make India a malnourishment free country. These appalling levels of malnourishment are not just due to the limited access to food and healthcare but due to extremely low level of food grain consumption, particularly, women and children in poor households due to low levels of purchasing power. The bill should refer to a life-cycle approach in ensuring access to necessary quantity and quality of nutritious food. This implies that attention should be paid to the nutrition, particularly of women, from conception to childbirth and childcare. Because the first three years of life are most crucial for nutritional well-being, and damage done by inadequate nourishment at the early stage is very hard to reverse resulting in under weight and stunted growth.

But the proposed food security bill is again another minimalistic, providing 5kg of food grains to each individual does not guarantee food security and nutritional security. Merely providing cheap food grains doesn’t guarantee nutrition. This requires a balanced intake of calories, protein, fats and essential micronutrients. These can only be provided by a basket of food items that go beyond food grains, and includes pulses and cooking oil ensuring a minimum of recommended proteins and fat in diet. Provision of 5 kg of cereals is far below the recommended food requirements by Indian Council for Medical research (ICMR)- 14 kg for an adult, and 7 kg for a child. ICMR also recommended balanced diet comprising of cereals, pulses, vegetables, oil, sugar, milk and fruits, which roughly comes to around 2100 kcal (urban) and 2400 kcal (rural). For cereals alone, the ICMR dietary norms are 330 grams of cereal or 1000 kcal 1000 kcal per person per day. The total requirement of cereals per person per month would be 11 kg and that for a family of five would be 55 kg. But the food security Bill offers only 166 grams per person per day or 542 kcal despite well aware about the Suresh Tendulkar Committee recommendation of 1800 kcal per capita. The recommended quantity of grains is not enough for even subsistence level of living which is supposed to be a balanced diet comprising of cereals, pulses, edible oils, sugar that fulfills the minimum 1700 Kcal recommended by ICMR. The proposed food security ordinance is bare minimalistic and does not abide by the ruling of Supreme court , that below poverty households (BPL) should be given 35 kg a month of food grains. At present this only coves 10 percent poorest of the population under Antyodaya scheme.

It appears the government in its hurry to meet the forthcoming election timings is trying to minimize its own obligations. Because the Bill even failed to match the existing state food security laws; Tamil Nadu provides 20 kg of rice free of cost to all ration-card holders in the state, although without legal entitlements. It also maintains that it has a better scheme which is universal unlike the UPA’s Bill. Similarily Chhattisgarh passed a far well-defined Food Security Act so far, which covers 90 per cent of the population and added many essential food commodities in the act. If at all the government pushes through its Bill, then a third of the population will remain outside its ambit( 50 pecent of urban and 25 percent of rural). Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal seek the Bill’s universal application. Even Congress ruled states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Maharashtra have also expressed the similar concerns.

The Parliamentary standing committee on Food Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution wanted a policy should be worked out considering state specific exclusion criteria in consultation with state governments in a transperant manner at the same time ensuring that at the national level over all exclusion does not exceed 25 percent in rural and 50 percent in urban areas. The proposed bill in its present for instance excludes 50 percent of urban population, form only partially included this recommendation ( covering 67 percent all over india ) but ignoring specific poorer regions in different states such as kalahandi, Vidarbha, Mahaboobnagar, Rayalseems, and others.
Another serious concern expressed by various farmers unions and Samajwadi Party is the bill in its present form is totally ignoring the interests of farmers. Huge stocks of wheat and rice will be procured from farmers. But the bill proposes to freeze minimum Remunerative price being offered to farmers atleast for 3 years. On the contrary Government regularly offers huge concessions to large corporations and whole sale grain traders especially to wheat and rice exporters, but to guarantee a MSP for farmers it lacks will. The government should guarantee a minimum support price needs to increase to compensate the farmers from season to season.

Now the Government is in real hurry to meet its electoral goals in forthcoming 2014 general elections. For four years it did not act. For the last two yeas, six crore tones of food grains are rotting in Food Corporation of India godowns. And now in a big hurry, not even waiting a few weeks to let the bill thoroughly debated in Parliament, it takes the ordinance route.

Given the level of stocks in state-run godowns, this (the Ordinance) is a good way to ensure that grains reach the poor. But the big question is how to make it sustainable. The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), plagued by inefficiencies , leakages and corruption. It has to be improved by plugging the leakages, invest in infrastructure like storages ( build more secure storage space), scientific management & monitoring of movement and distribution of Food stocks from Godowns down to to ration shops (PDS outlets). Introduction of public audit ( similar to Mhatma Gandhi Rural Employment scjeme ) involving women and student groups; and third, monetary and financial stability, because currently stocks are adequate, but what will happen if foodgrain production drops.

Soma S. Marla, Principle Scientist, Indian Council for agricultural research, New Delhi


 

 




 

 


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