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Food Security Bill
The exercise would include supply of about 62 million tonnes of rice,wheat and coarse cereals to 75 per cent of the rural and up to 50 per cent of the urban population. Of these,at least 46 per cent of the rural and 28 per cent of the urban population will be designated as priority households.
The scheme is being described as a key strategy for the ruling Congress party to face the coming general elections if not to win them which are scheduled before May 2014.
The beneficiaries will be entitled to 5 kg of subsidized food grains per person per month and the bill ensures that the mother or the eldest female member of the family will be identified as the head of the family.
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Will the Food Bill harm Agriculture? Farm experts and even the Agriculture Ministry insiders say till now the government food policy essentially depended on growing more wheat and rice, a policy that has often“discouraged”farmers from crop diversification.As a result,this practice has severely depleted water levels and soil nutrients in the states of Punjab and Haryana.“The new law will mean we will need more foodgrains. In order to ensure food security in a sustained manner,it is necessary that momentum in growth in food grain productions is maintained unabated,”sources told Eastern Panorama. The government thinks now the focus would need to be diverted for much higher production on a long-term plan from water-abundant eastern states.There are also concerns whether crop diversification,cultivation of vegetables and horticulture richness in the North East region too could be neglected. Officials are also concerned about the overall farm sector growth as on March 31,2013 it fell to 1.8 percent from 3.6 percent the previous year largely due to drought in western states.Lack of irrigation facilities remains another area of concern. |
The principal opposition BJP and even a supporting party of the government namely the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav have called it a poll gimmick and “inadequate”to serve the purpose.A section of the BJP, such as the former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has called the Food Bill an‘economic disaster’ while other independent experts also agree that the move will add to the financial burden of the country at the time of depreciating currency and joblessness.
“We gave the opportunity to provide food to everyone, especially weaker sections of our society that have not benefited from India’s economic prosperity,” said Sonia Gandhi,president of the Congress party who is considered as someone who pushed for the bill in all sincerity. In her brief but spirited speech in the Lok Sabha on August 26th,2013 braving high fever,Gandhi said,“We had promised in 2009 that we will bring the Food Security Bill.I am happy to say that we are fulfilling the promise”.
In July,the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government imposed the provisions of the new legislation by executive order in the form of an ordinance.
Senior BJP leader M M Joshi described the provisions of the bill “inadequate”.“This Bill is not a Food Security Bill this is an attempted vote securing bill,” Joshi said. “A government survey had said minimum requirement of food grain by a person per month for a healthy existence is about 10 kg but the government provision in the bill is only for 5 kgs. So it is not adequate. Actually they are only making a mockery of the same,”Joshi told Eastern Panorama. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said the BJP is supporting the legislation despite it being “half-baked and weak”.She added,“We are waiting for the day when we come to power and we will be able to improve the law.”
Experts say that with the new law, the food-subsidy bill will add to the burden on a government already struggling to contain its budget deficit and fast depreciating Indian currency in the global market as against the dollar.
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Major highlights of the Bill 1.The bill guarantees two-third population the right to 5 Kgs of foodgrains every month at subsidised rates of Rs.1-3 per kg. 2.At Rs.125,000 crore (20 billion$) of government support,the food security programme will be the largest in the world. 3.About 2.43 crore poorest of the poor families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme under PDS will continue to get entitlement to 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month. 4.The states stood to lose grains under the n----ew Bill.But will now get exactly what they have been getting, as amendments have been brought. 5.It allows cash compensation if a ration card holder is denied food for several months.
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Activist Ajay Jhakar of farming body Bharatiya Krishak Samaj told this correspondent that “The proposal is only a short-term measure and lacks vision. The real challenges to ensure effective food security is low crop productivity, lack of irrigation facilities and slow adoption of mechanized farming.”
Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party said,“The government is bringing this Bill with elections in the mind. There is nothing for the poor in it”.
The Food Minister K V Thomas admitted during a 9 hour long debate that there are various limitations in the present legislation. The bill has been brought after wide consultations and the government had no intention to undermine the rights and powers of the state governments through this bill,he added. The states as per the original provisions of the Bill stood to lose grains but will now get exactly what they have been getting,the minister said adding that the Bill has been amended to provide the quantity of grains based on the allocations made to states in the last three years.
Skeptics like Arun Shourie, a renowned political thinker and a former BJP minister also says if he was Finance Minister today, he would not have allowed the passage of the Food Security Bill. Others endorse him and say there are also unanswered questions about how the government can manage such a high food subsidy, accurately identify beneficiaries, ensure proper storage and avoid corruption. The concerns are not unfounded. The nightmarish death of 22 school children and injury of 27 others after consuming a mid-day meal served to them at a government primary school at Chhapra in Bihar is yet another testimony of a big ticket racket if not rot in these government schemes.
