Staying Hungry: National Food Security Act Deferred To April 2015
Staying Hungry: National Food Security Act Deferred To April 2015
This Hunger Game has no winners. The NDA government has unfortunately deferred the country-wide rollout of the National Food Security Act in 2013 by around 6 months for the first week of April 2015. The inability of states to create the required infrastructure and find beneficiaries is what the trouble has been so far and more wait is in store for those hoping to finally gain access to food security.
This is the second time the roll-out of the Act has been deferred. The Food Security Act was the brainchild of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. According to this Act, around 84 crore people in India would be able to access highly subsidised food grains. This food security legislation was passed in July last year by the Parliament and a year's time was given to finish the roll-out of the Act.
This deadline was later extended to October 4 which is 3 more months as many states lacked the infrastructure for better grain storage facilities and identification of the beneficiaries for this legislation. “A large number of states wanted the roll-out deferred as the beneficiaries ‘ list is yet to complied,” food minister Ram Vilas Paswan was quoted by Financial Express as having said. Media reports indicate the digitisation of data regarding the intended list of beneficiaries as well as fair price shops and grain godowns have yet to be completed.
However, 11 states namely Bihar, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesg, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have implemented the plan in full to partial capacity. States such as UP, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Odisha have not done so yet. It is these states which also have vast amounts of poor people with no access to food security.
About The National Food Security Act, 2013
The National Food Security Act of 2013 namely the Right to Food Act aims to provide subsidised food grains to around 75% of the 1.2 billion people in India. It became law on September 12, 2013 retroactive to July 5, 2013. The Act stipulated that beneficiaries should be able to buy 5 kilograms worth of grins and cereals per eligible person per month at highly subsidised rates.
Pregnant ladies, lactating mother sand specific categories of children are also eligible for daily free meals, according to this Act.
Voices of Assent and Dissent
While there have been advocates of this Act, others have also criticised it. On the pro side, former National Advisory Council member and development economist
Jean Drèze wrote, "...the Bill is a form of investment in human capital. It will bring some security in people’s lives and make it easier for them to meet their basic needs, protect their health, educate their children, and take risks. On the anti side, the RBI said” the food security bill will aggravate food price inflation as it will tilt supply towards cereals and away from other farm produce (proteins), which will raise food prices further." Of course, any legislation attracts its share of supporters and negators, but once it is implemented well, the positive features do benefit the people. The endgame needs to be a win-win situation and food security is important for the nation, regardless of who proposed the Act and who implements it. States should keep this is mind and get to work so that people in need can access food security.
