A day long deliberation on National Food Security Act-2013 was jointly inaugurated by ADM laxmikanta Behera, Assistant Civil Supplies Officer Prasanta Kumar Bebarta, activists Dr Ratan Das, Bidulata Huika and Bidyut Mohanty.
Mohanty presented the key points of the law, which received the assent of the President of India on September 10 last. “Though the law is a historic step towards ensuring food entitlement of poor as a matter of right, there are also serious lapses in identifying the priority groups in the absence of BPl or APl.
“Though we have a problem of identifying the priority groups, nevertheless, we can segregate rich by defining them such as income tax payers, families having four wheelers for personal use, families having four-roomed houses with toilets and kitchen, families paying Rs 1,200 electricity rent per month, etc. The Act has least space on food production,” said Mohanty
He also said, “Compensating the poor with cash in lieu of food in case the Government is not able to provide, will be a serious blunder. But issuance of ration card in the name of the most elderly woman of the house will certainly be a stepping stone.”
Behera said that any kind of food which is properly assimilated in the body can be termed as qualitative food. Several food schemes of departments like Education, ST/SC and ICDS, apart from PDS for different categories of people existing now, have been consolidated in the Act for ensuring food.
The Act needs to be understood by the people in rural as well as urban areas to take optimum benefit out of it.
Dr Ratan Das lamented upon the condition of small and marginal farmers of this country. “If the farmers of the villages do not produce enough and are not self sustainable, from where the surplus will come for distribution to the distressed and hungryIJ” he questioned. If the State does not promote Gandhian principle of self sustainability, food security will turn out to be sheer fiasco, said Dr Das.
According to the tribal activist and former Sarpanch Satya Narayan Pratika, the working tribals consume enough rice. Even five kg of rice is consumed in a day when there are guests in the house. So per head five kg of rice per month is really meager and will not solve the purpose.
If the State is not capable to meet the real food need of the poor, it must give utmost importance to the farmers and promote agriculture than giving doles.
Dibakar Sabar, yet another tribal activist, lambasted at the Government for not fulfilling the earlier promises made in gram sabhas and palli sabhas regarding permanent assets like land. Thousands of claimants have not got forest land under Forest Rights Act. These kinds of laws are made to be violated, he said.
He was complemented by former Sarpanch James Sabar, who said that when the State was hell bent upon giving thousand acres of land to the corporate houses, insensitivity towards the poor in allotting a few acres of land was a prime reason for anguish among tribals and Dalits.
Purandar Banth emphasised the need of a healthy person as fifteen kg as per WHO statement along with other proteins, fats and oils. If because of the Act, the Centre will provide rice at the rate of Rs 3 a kg, the State Government will save still Rs 2 as it is supplying rice now for Rs 1 per kg.
The saved money can be used to provide dal, oil and other necessary food items. Sibaram Nayak from Kashipur emphasizd Government’s role in promoting natural resources, rather than pushing alms in the quantity of peanuts and pills.
Gopinath Kandagari, a tribal leader from Mukundapur, expressed his concern over the attitude of the mainstream society. He said that it is alleged that with 25 kg subsidized rice, the poor tribals are becoming lazy, not cultivating their land and migrating outside to earn more, etc.
A poor tibal needs much more as basic need besides five kg rice per month. If with this meager subsidy, the tribals are merry making, then why their conditions are getting worse day by day, questioned Kandagari.
Huika questioned the present systemic error in PDS system and hoped that the law might pluck the loophole if properly implemented. Radheshyam Panda suggested that the kind of sensitization process must trickle down to panchayat level and at last thanked the gathering.