Right
to Food Campaign, organized a consultation on food security and local level
livelihood resources on 20th Nov, 2013 in the office of community
health and development programme, Madhepura. Participants discussed findings of
the study of food security schemes in the district in February, 2013, various
provisions of The Food Security Act, vision of the Right to Food campaign,
problems affecting Agriculture and farmers, land reforms and corruption in the
existing welfare schemes. Around twenty five participants were present there.
Important participants, among others, were Ritwij Kumar, Joseph Marandi, Hemant
Kumar Yadav, Jai kumar, Akhilesh Saha, Alok kumar Nayak and Pankaj Kumar. Ram
lagan Nirala presided over the meeting. The consultation started around 11 AM
and concluded at 4 PM.
Ram
lagan Nirala welcomed the guests and introduced the subject. He pointed that
Food Security Act was very much relevant in the context of Bihar where over 50%
children are malnourished, poverty, unemployment and starvation situation persist
on a massive scale. Reflecting over the food security situation, he said that
the local administration was not taking effective steps to check malpractices
of service providers and block level officials. He asserted that Right to Food
Campaign should undertake activities from village level to create awareness
about welfare schemes and make public agenda of land reforms and farmers’
problems. Mobilization of men and women of vulnerable and marginalized
communities be ensured under the banner of the Right to Food Campaign.
After
his speech, Ritwij spoke on significance of the Food Security Act, 2013 in the
context of Bihar, Right to Food Campaign as a strong force, identification of
local livelihood resources and corruption, accountability of officials
concerned with schemes, redress mechanism and community monitoring.
He
noted that Food Security bill became Act after a long struggle of Right to Food
Campaign. Though it has some drawbacks, it is a first step towards
universalization of food security, he said. He said that Bihar would be the
biggest beneficiary of the Act, because 86% of the population would be
benefitted. So, it was required that Right to Food Campaign and its allies
should use this golden opportunity to make grains available to the needy.
Regarding
the structure of the Campaign, he suggested that participants should think over
forming of structure in their district. He also asked them to identify
livelihood resources at village level to understand how poor people were
surviving and to assess the impact of liberalization on local economy.
Reflecting
on the implementation of food security schemes, he commented that corruption,
nepotism, and favoritism practiced by block level officials, service providers
and panchayat representatives was not being checked by the government. The
Right to Food Campaign would mobilize people to pressurize the government to
bring transparency, accountability and redress mechanism in its policies. Accountability
of each person, directly or indirectly associated with the implementation of
schemes from panchayat to state level should be fixed.
Reflecting
on the importance of structure of Right to Food Campaign at district level,
Joseph Marandi said that an organized body should be evolved involving local
social organizations, activists, intellectuals and social workers to organize
people raise issues relating to schemes, identification of beneficiaries and Food
security Act. Ha said that PDS dealers, AWC sevika and were not giving services
properly but were enjoying commission and also paying a share to the officials
concerned. The Right to Food Campaign
should take initiatives to organize people for better community
monitoring.
Hemant
Kumar Yadav, in his speech, focused on problems of farmers, use of excessive
inorganic fertilizer in agriculture, corruption in the implementation of
schemes and Food Security Act.
He
said that Right to Food Campaign should take up steps to enhance farmer’s
profit and suggested that small and marginal farmers should be ensured of
sufficient income so that their family could not starve. Excessive use of
fertilizers was making lands fertile, so the Campaign should introduce advocacy
of the use of organic fertilizer in its agenda, he added. Objectives of Food
Security Act could not be attained without rooting out corruption in the
system, he said. Corruption was not to be easily removed as RTI activists who
sought information on government’s policies and mafia activities were killed,
he added.
Jai
Kumar said that identification of livelihood resources and impact of the
economic changes in the last twenty years would not be easy. For this work,
Right to Food campaign should select knowledgeable volunteers and gave them
training. He also suggested for formation of structure of the campaign at
district level. Food Security Act was a progressive step, but its
implementation in the present system of Bihar would increase corruption, he
added. On identification of beneficiaries, he said that socio-economic caste
census chosen for identification of beneficiaries was full of drawbacks.
Akhilesh Shah raised issues relating to the
implementation of food security schemes, declining production in agriculture, drought
and flood and lack of awareness among masses about food security schemes. He
pointed that during flood and drought welfare schemes did not reach the genuine
afflicted people and there was no proper mechanism to make schemes available to
people in severe distress. Food Security Act, if implemented properly, he
expected food security would be ensured for all irrespective of any situation.
Alok Kumar Nayak and Pankaj Kumar, in their
speech, focused on the mechanism of implementation of Food Security Act,
identification of beneficiaries, farmer’s problems and corruption in PDS.
Alok
Kumar Nayak said that the present system did not have honest officials to
implement the act and identification of beneficiaries would never be done
correctly because of favouritism and nepotism of panchayat representatives and
officials concerned. So, the Right to Food Campaign should find out ways to
pressurize the government to identify real beneficiaries as per the Act. The
Right to Food Campaign should mobilize people for community monitoring, he
suggested.
Pankaj
Kumar, suggested that local level organizations should join Right to Food
Campaign in identification of livelihood resources and mobilizing marginalized
and vulnerable communities for benefits under the Act.
Following
recommendations came out of the consultation:
- Formation of the structure of the Right to Food Campaign is to be decided in the next meeting.
- Identification of livelihood resources at local level will be done.
- Community monitoring will be strengthened.
- Sample survey of village for identification of beneficiaries will be decided in the meeting.
