Food security cannot be confined to a specialised class of people as everyone irrespective of rich and poor needs food to survive.
Gone are the days when a bigger section of people were not able to get two square meals per day. Today, the market is deficient of both skilled and unskilled labourers. As a result, wage employment is no longer a problem. However, this does not mean there is no malnutrition or hunger-related death and distress migration in Odisha. The problem is acute in many parts of the State, especially in the western Odisha. But, overall, the people of the State have been able to increase their earnings and consequently, their standard of living has gone up.
The difference between the rice and the poor is that one is able to arrange his food and other requirements while the other is not. But looking at the present scenario, it is no wonder that beggars are also lending money to common people at higher interest. leprosy patients are indulged in smuggling of contrabands and gold. A non technical labour whereas is earning Rs250 per day, a carpenter is earning Rs500 daily. That day is over when workmen were searching engagement. Now people are searching workmen for their house construction works and also for agriculture. A fourth grade Government employee is earning more than Rs20,000 per month. Even retired persons are getting minimum of Rs10,000.
The Government has to consider those people who remain between the two ends of rich and poor. Though many people have completed their study, but they are not getting any job. They cannot work as house workers, agriculture or construction labour. There are also many people, who have large buildings and ancestral property, but they have no money to utilise them. They cannot marry their daughter off due to lack of money. They have landed property, but no labourers are available to plough their land. Sometimes the production cost of agricultural products exceeds the sale price due hazardous environment conditions. Many have constructed buildings for their residential purpose by borrowing money from banks and repaying the installments. Can these people be considered rich and unworthy to come under food security provisionIJ Possession of two-wheelers or TV is not luxurious anymore.
One wonders why the earlier PDS system was replaced by the present one. Earlier, the common people were getting wheat at the cost of Rs7-8 per kg and the people belonging to BPl category or widows were getting rice and wheat at concessional rates. If there was any wrong in categorising BPl, then that could have been re-examined but replacing it with a new system and thereby depriving many of their right to food is not a welcome move. It seems there is a whiff of vote politics in all this.