Callous Indifferent attitude of Statutory Human Rights Bodies in respect of dealing starvation death and Hunger related issues in Odisha (Few case studies)

Human Rights Bodies like National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission has been constituted to protect human rights of the people in the country.  As  per  Protection of Human Rights Act,1993,  these  statutory bodies   are required to   hear  the  complaint cases  relating to violation of human rights  and give justice  to the  victims by directing appropriate authority  to take  action against the law violator  and  awarding   compensation to the affected persons.  But the callousness and  indifferent attitude  of  these  bodies  has  endangered  the life and  livelihood  of the  common people  and standing as  stumbling  block  for protection  of human rights. I cite  herewith  few examples  in this regard.

A Renewed PDS

Photo:Forbes India

EPW: K R Antony,Yogesh Jain ,Samir Garg 

An efficient public distribution system (PDS) is a life support extended by the State to people living below the poverty line, which, the way it is officially defined, is more like a “starvation line”.

Many states have been supplying essential food items and kerosene to poor households through the PDS with varying degrees of success but supply of only wheat/rice, iodised salt and sugar alone is not adequate to meet the nutrition needs of the people.

India Matters: Bihar - A reality check

India Matters: Bihar - A reality check

Mahadalits is a term coined by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the poorest and most marginalized among Dalits. 21 castes are included in the Mahadalit category, ostensibly for their socio- economic development and for better targetting of government schemes. Bihar has also become the first state to set up a Mahadalit Development Commission. Some view this as Nitish Kumar's attempt to carve out a voter base of his own. But the chief minister says the development of Mahadalits is at the top of his priorities and that his vision of development is an inclusive one. The chief minister has flaunted economic data to show how effective policies and governance have created a resurgent Bihar. But how do these claims translate on the ground, particularly for those at the centre of the state's politics?

Wasted food for thought

The Hindu

That one-third of the food produced annually for human consumption is wasted is in itself unconscionable in a world where 870 million, or one in eight people, go hungry every day. A United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation report now says that this high volume of wastage that occurs right through the food supply chain exerts an adverse impact on land, water, biodiversity and climate change. This impact is in addition to the green house gas emissions that are known to result from current patterns of food production, processing, marketing and consumption associated with global commercial flows.

क्या है राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा कानून

1.प्रस्‍तावनाएं 

यह कानून पूरे देश में 5 जुलाई 2013 से लागू माना जाएगा। (यह वही तारीख है, जिस दिन राष्‍ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अध्‍यादेश लागू हुआ था)

2.हकदारियां

सार्वजनिक वितरण प्रणाली (पीडीएस)

•  प्राथमिकता वाले परिवारों को प्रति व्‍यक्‍ति पांच किलो अनाज हर महीने।
•  अंत्‍योदय परिवार को महीने में 35 किलो राशन।
•  दोनों को पात्र परिवार मानते हुए 75 प्रतिशत ग्रामीण और 50 प्रतिशत शहरी जनसंख्‍या को कानून के दायरे में लाया गया है।
•  इन्‍हें पीडीएस से 3 रु किलो चावल, 2 रु किलो गेहूं और 1 रुपए किलो के हिसाब से बारीक अनाज मिलेगा।

What the food bill does not consider:M S Swaminathan

The Asian Age

The National Food Security Bill, passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, marks an important chapter in our struggle to end hunger through appropriate social protection. It is the world’s largest programme for achieving the goal of zero hunger.

 Food security has several dimensions such as:

a) availability of food in the market, which is a function of production,

b) access to food which is a function of purchasing power and

c) absorption of food in the body which is a function of the availability of clean drinking water, sanitation, toilets, primary healthcare and nutritional literacy.

There are also three types of hunger, viz.

a) under-nutrition resulting from calorie deprivation

b) protein-hunger arising from inadequate consumption of protein-rich foods like pulses, milk, egg etc. and

c) hidden-hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet, such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12.

Cash plan flops in Congress bastion

Photo:The Times of India

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times 

The UPA’s showpiece direct benefits transfer (DBT) plan is struggling.  Poor Aadhaar enrolment clubbed with lack of banking facilities is coming in the way of the anti-poverty programme.

Numbers are telling. Two months after the roll out in Rae Bareli, the constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, only `1,400 has been transferred in Rae Bareli. The district has 6,000 people enlisted for the National Social Security Programme. Only one person has seen cash transferred to his account.

Parliament panel pulls up government for 'outdated' malnutrition data

Photo: Mohd Wasif 

Expressing surprise on the absence of latest official data on malnutrition, a Parliamentary panel has asked the government to come up with a time-bound action plan to reduce under-nutrition and ensure real time flow of information for proper monitoring.

“We are surprised to note that in this modern era of information technology, there is no recent official data on malnutrition.” 

“What is available is seven years old and outdated...National Family Health Survey III data of 2005-2006,” the panel said.

Right to Food Campaign, West Bengal on National Food Security Act

The UPA 2 Government has taken four years after it announced its intention to legislate a right to food to actually pass the National Food Security Act. This Bill has been brought forward at a time when there are 80 million tonnes of grains in the government godowns and increased public action highlighting widespread hunger. This was an opportune time to bring in a comprehensive Food Security Act which addressed issues of expanding production, decentralised procurement and storage and universal distribution along with special measures to reach out to the most vulnerable. However the government has missed this opportunity by passing a minimalistic Bill.

While almost every political party raised issues related to guarantee of income for farmers, assuring Minimum Support Price, universal coverage under the Public Distribution System(PDS), including pulses and oil in PDS, the necessity of 14 kgs of foodgrains, scrapping cash transfers, community kitchens, removal of contractors, the absurdity of the poverty lines, protecting small and marginal farmers during the debate in Parliament, unfortunately none of the amendments related to these got passed. The millions of poor and food insecure in the country who have been waiting for a comprehensive food Bill may get some small consolation from the fact that hunger, malnutrition and state’s obligation towards addressing this was discussed and debated in Parliament for many hours.

Our Assessment of What We Got and What Remains in the National Food Security Bill.

What we got

1.Acknowledgement of hunger and malnutrition and  the question of food becomes a legal entitlement


2.Doubling of the coverage, from 36% to 67% in the PDS


3.Strengthening and expansion of the PDS, from a situation of it being dismantled to the fair price shop and the ration system being there to stay.