Problem of plenty, Govt at sea

Correspondent/ Chandigarh

The centre should ensure speedy movement of grains. At present, only 4 lakh tonnes is moved a month against the monthly demand of 10 lakh tonnes.

This year wheat collection in Haryana is set to create records as procurement is expected to cross 75 lakh tonnes on back of bumper output, but storage remains a big worry. Haryana had recorded the highest wheat purchase for central pool at 69.28 lakh tonnes in 2011-12 rabi marketing season.
This time, the total procurement is likely to cross 75 lakh tonnes which will be the highest ever purchase in the history of the state, a senior official of Haryana Food and Supply department said. Before the procurement started, the state government had set a target of 70 lakh tonnes. The crop purchase had already crossed at 68.81 lakh tonnes, up 21 per cent.
"The daily crop arrival still ranges between 2-3 lakh tonnes in Haryana. There is a great possibility that new record (of wheat procurement) will be set today itself," an official said.
The state is witnessing heavy arrival of the crop. The state authorities have even banned farmers from bringing wheat from adjoining Uttar Pradesh villages.
Haryana contributes almost 30 per cent to central pool. The state is targetting a record wheat yield in the current season on the back of favourable winter season, with a productivity of 47.50 quintals, the highest ever in the state.
The state has pegged the output at 118.61 lakh tonne, with an area of 25.05 lakh hectares.
However, a likely record procurement has also raised concerns about storage of the crop in the view of insufficient storage space and slow movement of foodgrain stock to other states.
"There will certainly be a problem in storing wheat because of shortage of storage space," the official said. The state authorities feel that whopping 80 lakh tonnes of wheat will need to stored in the open and could get damaged due to the monsoon season.
"We made arrangement for storing 70 lakh tonne of wheat with a great difficulty and now crop procurement surpassing our assessment, it will make our task (storage) further difficult," he said.
The Haryana government would be writing to the Centre to speed up the movement of wheat and rice to foodgrain deficit states.
The state is also concerned about the slow movement of grains -- about 4 lakh tonne of grain is moved a month against the monthly demand of 10 lakh tonne.
The state has covered capacity of 48.79 lakh tonne, while Covered Area Plinth (CAP) is 30 lakh tonne.
Meanwhile, the Central government had admitted a mismatch between procurement and storage and said efforts were on to ease pressure on godowns by encouraging exports and providing foodgrain to MNREGA workers as part of wages.
Answering a question in the Lok Sabha, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee admitted a "mismatch" as godowns lacked storage space when there had been a "record production" of rice and wheat.
He said that earlier 30-40 per cent of the total production of foodgrain used to be purchased by the government and the rest taken care of by the market.
But in the last 2-3 years, due to high minimum support price, procurement had become the primary responsibility of central and state governments and their agencies, he said.
Referring to the shortage of jute bags to store foodgrain, he said to augment their availability, the government was trying to import them, even as two lakh MT of storage capacity has been added.
While plastic bags had been banned, the government was following international norms for packaging of sugar, wheat and rice stored in biodegradable jute bags, he said.
Besides providing several tax and other concessions to create more storage capacity, exports were being encouraged and the Rural Development Ministry was working on providing foodgrain to MNREGA workers as part of their wages. State governments have to be involved in this, he said.
Mukherjee's remarks followed a 10-minute adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings after members of NDA, Left, RJD and SP created a furore over farmers plight, saying foodgrains were rotting and getting destroyed in rains due to lack of storage at a time of record wheat and riceoutput.

Govt deliberately allowing wheat to rot to help breweries: Farmers

Nimisha / Chandigarh

Centre-appointed Rangarajan panel recommends export of two million tonnes of wheat

Record wheat production in Punjab and Haryana has brought both agony and ecstasy to the farmers and the officials of the procurement agencies. While the two States - the food basket of the country - are celebrating a bumper wheat production, they simply do not know how to store the massive volumes procured this year.
While the scientific storage capacity is limited and at best can store three-fourth of the procurement, the slow movement of stocks out of the region has compounded the woes of the two States.
So far nearly 13 million tonnes of wheat has already been procured in Punjab this season which is the highest procurement in the last few decades. It is already 2 million tonnes higher than the target of 11 million tonnes set by the State Government before the beginning of the procurement season. The Punjab Government and its agencies are wondering where to store the food grain and have hit a wall as the godowns are overflowing and the movement out of the State has been extremely slow.
Haryana is no different and the worry lines are only growing even as the State celebrates a record production. The procurement has touched 8.6 million tonnes against the fixed target of seven million tonnes.
Now that the Food Ministry supported the suggestion of Rangarajan panel to allow export of 2 million tonnes of wheat from Government stocks immediately to ease pressure on storages, the two States are breathing easy. But still the two State Governments want more. For them, the export of wheat would serve two purposes. While the problem of storage would be solved, it will also serve as an incentive for farmers as they can hope for a better MSP next year if the Centre formulates a permanent policy on wheat exports.
The C Rangarajan panel was constituted to suggest ways and means to ease pressure that record food grain production had created on storages across the country, particularly Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh in recent years. The panel suggested immediate export of 2 million tonnes of wheat from Government stocks, and additional supply of 13 million tonnes of the grain via ration shops and in the open market.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was the first to raise the demand for exports. He asked the Centre to allow export of wheat from the State, being the major producer of the crop to bail out the beleaguered Punjabi farmers already reeling under debt stress. In his meetings and letters to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in the last couple of months, Badal has been consistently raising the demand for permitting export of wheat.
"Whenever there is an acute shortage of the food grains in the country; Punjab was always reminded of its obligation towards the national food pool. On the contrary, whenever there was surplus food production as of now in the case of wheat, Centre pays no heed to our requests, which tantamount to its sheer discrimination against Punjab," Badal said, hours before the decision of the Centre to allow export.
Officials and agencies associated with procurement of wheat say that decision on the movement of wheat has to be taken on an emergency basis as only a month remains for the monsoon to hit the northern region. "Piles of wheat without any coverage and others where only a polythene sheet has been placed on top of the sacks could easily get rotten and become unfit for consumption after rains. It has happened in the past and the state stares at it again," said an official, who did not want to be identified.
In fact, on the day procurement of wheat began in Punjab, it already had nearly 7 million tonnes in the godowns which was much more than what is normally kept for meeting any possible food crisis. "The movement to other parts of the country was extremely slow in the last 12 months - both Rabi and Kharif crops," an official admitted, adding that the Centre needs to look into this aspect seriously and urgently.
A section of the farmers have alleged that the "policy of allowing wheat to rot was deliberate" as it helps some breweries pick up the rotten wheat at throwaway prices and also the flour mills who mix certain chemicals to whiten the wheat and make it fit for human consumption.
State and Centre officials deny any such practice. They simply put up their hands in despair and say what they can do when the storage capacity is not there, private sector is not coming up in the food storage sector and the food grains have to face the vagaries of nature lying in the open.
All efforts of the Centre and even the state to bring in private warehouses and build private storage capacity have failed. Given the high prices of real estate in the region and the failure of the governments to give any sort of assured guarantee for profits to entrepreneurs, no one is coming for it.
"As the investment is high and only the government and its procurement agencies are the clients, they have to come forward to give a guarantee that they would hire the godowns for at least 15 years or so and would also help initially in the investment. Unless such a policy comes out, no one will invest in warehouses," an entrepreneur of Punjab said.
Food experts say that unless storage capacity is improved, the disparity in the availability of foodgrains in the country will continue.
"It is indeed sad when we see that one part of the country faces shortages while foodgrains rot in some other part. You cannot allow this to happen. Urgent steps are needed and one of them is to build storage capacity in areas where the concentration of population is high and then move the food grains from Punjab and Haryana to these areas," a scientist from the PAU said.

Rotting grains, hungry mouths

Sangita Jha/ New Delhi

Centre should look for other options as there is a mismatch between foodgrain procurement and storage capacity.
A couple of photographs told the story of India’s food mismanagement.No words were needed. Mounds of sacks full of rotting foodgrains being ploughed by some labourrers in the hope, that they find some quantity still eatable splashed newspapers this month. Another photograph had the same story but this time lying in pool of water. Not shocked, Union ministry of consumer affairs and public distribution wanted to question the authenticity of the photographs.
“Why is no one saying that those photographs were taken three years ago,” quipped a senior official of the ministry.
With wheat productions alone set to cross 90 million tonnes this year, the government is caught in a dark tunnel. There are two options for the government; one to let the grains go to the hungry mouths, and secondly export them. The choice is not that easy. First option would entail much higher subsidy burden, while the second would still need export subsidy but the government can recover part of the cost of procuring the foodgrains.
The ministry rushed to the Prime Minister’s Office with a proposal to release 17 million tonnes of wheat through the PDS for people under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) categories. The government bent with subsidy burden constituted a committee under C Rangarajan to look into the issue of “Food Management”, while tasking it to look into the ministry proposal.
In one week’s time the committee submitted its recommendations. Release 10.5 million tonnes of wheat through PDS and export two million tonnes. Total subsidy liability would be Rs 17,000 crore.
“Export is not a wothwhile option, as there are hardly any buyer. International price is low. India has been able to export to only a handful of countries, including Bangladesh, Taiwan and some African countries. Unless export is substantially subsidiesd, there will be no buyers in the international market,” said a senior official of the Food ministry. In fact, ban on export of wheat was lifted in September 2011 but in all only eight lakh tonnes of grain could be exported till date. This sums up the export option story.
Against the likely government procurement of 90 million tonnes of wheat this year, the storage capacity available by all means is of 62 million tonnes only. The piecemeal approach of getting rid of 10.5 million tonnes of wheat, as suggested by the Rangarajan committee, is clearly not in lines with the sound principles of “management”.
“The storage capacity, Covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) available with the Food Corporation of India as on 01.04.2012 was 336.04 lakh MTs, both owned and hired. The storage capacity with state agencies for storage of Central stock of foodgrains as on 31.03.2011 was about 291 lakh tonnes, including both covered and CAP capacity. Thus, a total quantity of about 627 lakh tonnes of storage capacity was available for storage of Central stock of foodgrains against the Central stock of 527 lakh tonnes as on 1.04.2012. However, some quantities of foodgrains get damaged due to rain, floods and natural calamities,” Union minister of state (independent charge) of public distribution informed the Rajya Sabha this month.
Problem is more acute for the reason that the country is set to witness a record foodgrains production of 252 million tonnes this year. In fact the eastern India is in the grip of the second green revolution. Five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana – are facing major storage problem. These are the states known as food bowl of the country. The case of Madhya Pradesh is unique, as it does not have enough jute bags to keep the grains.
“Problem of plenty is also for the reason, that consuming states have become producing states. West Bengal, Bihar, Odhisa have come around in a big way as foodgrains producing states,” said Prof. Thomas.
The government in fact informed the Parliament, which discussed the issue of lack of storage capacity, that supply of grains through PDS is enhanced and other welfare schemes linked with grains be launched.
However, the government has committed release of about 55 million tonnes of foodgrains through the PDS. The FCI is of the view that a minimum 75 million tonnes of grains be released through the PDS so that adequate capacity is created for the new crop. The cost of heeding to the advice of the FCI is about Rs 40,000 crore.
The Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee mooted an idea of reviving the old scheme of “Food for Work” through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). Prof. Thomas lapped the idea. However, the ray of hope dimmed just a flood down on the Krishi Bhavan where Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh did not waste any moment to recall “absolutely bad experience” when the “Food for Work” was being executed in some the poorest districts. The idea has been clearly a non-starter. Ramesh even recalled “excessive corruption” to show why he was not pleased.
The PDS grain release is taking place on the basis of 2001 Census. A number of states, including Chhatisgarh, Odhisa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, have sought that the PDS allocation be based on the 2011 Census. “We are currently getting 25 lakh tones of foodgrains, if it is raised to 35 lakh tones Chhatisgarh will be able to cover all the BPL families in the state,” Chhatisgarh chief minister Raman Singh told Prof. Thomas in a meeting this month.
However, the Centre is not rushing in to link the PDS allocation to the states based on 2011 Census. The Centre rather wants to wait for the ongoing Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to complete to revise its PDS allocation system. But the SECC has missed the December 2011 deadline for completion. It is still nowhere completion. Rather, the SECC has been a non-starter, as barring a couple of states like Maharashtra and Punjab, its progress percentage is in single digit as on March 31. It may even be not completed by this year as well.
Besides, National Food Security Bill is being deliberated upon by the Parliamentary standing committee and is expected to give its report before the Monsoon session of the Parliament begins. However, its fate is itself not clear for the reason that the food subsidy burden will be a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh crore, while the programme would still not be universal as sought out by states like Tamil Nadu.
“The government will have to discourage farmers from producing more by ensuring that there is no hike in minimum support price (MSP), which is paid for procuring the grains. The states will have to take the cue from the Centre and stop the practice of giving bonus on MSP. This is the only way we can get out of the mess in which we are trapped currently,” quipped a senior official of the Food ministry.

जल, जंगल और जमीन का जनादेश

यात्रा मार्ग से ........

पी.वी. राजगोपाल

आंध्रप्रदेश में कई परेशानियां है लेकिन इस बात को अनदेखा नही किया जा सकता है कि यहां की कई खुबियां भी हैं। अगर आप कहीं बाजार से गुजर जाएं तो आपकी नजर किसी फल वाले दुकान में जरूर पडे़गा । जितनी सुन्दरता से केले के पूरे गुच्छे को आकर्षक ढ़ंग से बांध कर रखतें है वह अन्य राज्यों के तुलना में भिन्न है । आंध्रप्रदेश मुर्तियों का भी राज्य है इतने सारे मूर्तियों को दुसरे को प्रांतों में आप नही देखेगें। सभी नेताओं की मूर्तियां बड़े तादात में हर शहर में दिखाई पडे़गा । कहीं कहीं तो ऐसा लगेगा जैसे कहीं मूर्तियों की बगीचा बना दिया हो । वैसे तमिलनाडु और केरल में फलैक्स का ज्यादा प्रचलन है तमिलनाडु में तो इस हद तक की हर व्यक्ति शादी मे,ं जन्म दिन में और मुंडन कार्यक्रम में भी अपना अपना फलैक्स बनाकर बाजार में लगाते हैं । आंध्रप्रदेश के दलित आंदोलनों में कारण करीब करीब हर शहर में अम्बेडर भवन है, और अम्बेडर जी की मूर्तियां है । मूर्तियां अकसर प्रेरणा के स्रोत बनते हैं लेकिन अगर उसकी रख रखाव ठीक से ना हो तो मूर्तियों के साथ असम्मान जैसा दिखाई पड़ता है । देश भर में कई जगह गांधी जी की मूर्ति का सही रख रखाव नही होने के कारण बहुत खराब हालत में दिखाई पड़ा । मूर्तियों की स्थापना और रख रखाव को लेकर एक अच्छी समझ बननी चाहिए । किसी भी शहर में किसी भी समूह के माध्यम से मूर्तियां लगायी जाय ? इसकी रख रखाव की जिम्मेवारी भी उन्ही पर निर्धारित होना चाहिए । जैसे राष्ट््रीय झंडा केे लिए कुछ नियम निर्धारित है वैसे ही कुछ निर्धारण मूर्तियों के लिए भी होना है ।

तमिलनाडु और केरल के तुलना में हमारे सभाओं में पुलिस और खुफिया विभाग की उपस्थिति न के बराबर रही । तमिलनाडु और केरल में खुफिया विभाग के तौर तरीके से थोड़ी सी असुविधा होती थी । लोगों की समस्याओं से अधिक उन्हे यात्रियों का फोटों खिचनें का शौक था सीधे सीधे बात करके जानकारी लेने के बदले यात्रियों के बारे में इधर उधर पुछने की भी उनकी आदत थी । इस कारण से मुझे एक बार उनके तौर तरीक के बारे में लेख भी लिखना पड़ा । लेकिन आंध्रप्रदेश में नक्शल प्रभावित क्षेत्र हो या तेलंगाना आंदोलन से प्रभावित क्षेत्र हो कही भी पुलिस खुफिया विभाग ने यात्रा को लेकर कोई खलबली नही मचाई । आम जनता को अपनी बात कहने की आजादी इस प्रांत में शायद अधिक है । इसी प्रकार यात्रा के स्वागत में अधिकतर बैठकें सरकारी भवनों में ही की गई । जहां बैठकर निरन्तर गरीब लोगों ने सरकार के बारे में शिकायत दर्ज कराई । मुझे केरल प्रांत के कासरकोड शहर की याद आयी, जहां हमारे पहुंचते ही खुफिया विभाग और पुलिस विभाग के लोग दौड़कर पहुंच गये । फोटो खिचने लगे साथ चलने वाले विदेशी मित्रों के पासपोर्ट मांगने लगे । उनके लिए आम जनता की समस्याओं से ज्यादा मतलब इस बात से है कि कौन आता है कौन जाता है । देश की सुरक्षा के ड््रामा में लगे हुए इन कर्मचारियों को इस बात की तनिक भी फ्रिक नही है कि आम लोग जिन परेशानियों को लेकर चर्चा कर रहे है । इससे पूर्व जब मै कासरकोड शहर का भ्रमण करने आया, उस समय जिला कलेक्टर से मिलकर निवेदन किया था, कि वे आदिवासियों की भूमि की समस्या जल्दी हल करंे । समस्या तो साल भर में हल नही हुए लेकिन कौन समस्याओं के बारे में पुछने आते हैं ? इस बात को लेकर फ्रिक जरूर है । यही हालात छतीसगढ़ जैसे प्रांत में भी है । लोगों के समस्या हल करने में सरकार को बिलकुल रूचि नही है । लेकिन समस्याओं पर चर्चा करने वालों को नक्सली समर्थक घोषित करने में पूरा तंत्र लगा हुआ है । ऐसा लगता है कि किसी को भी नक्सली समर्थक कहने से वह अपने जिम्मेवारियों से बच जायेंगे ।

आंध्रप्रदेश में एक खूबी यह रही कि इस बार यात्रा में मार्क्सवादी, गांधीवादी, अम्बेडकरवादी हम सब लोग एकजुट हुए । इस बात पर भी हमारी सहमति बनी कि वादों से उपर उठकर सबकी ताकत आम जनता की समस्या हल करने में लगनी चाहिए । प्रेरणा कहां से मिली है इस बात को लेकर लड़ने के बदले प्रेरणा को लेकर हम क्या कर रहें हैं, उस पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है जिस देश में 40 प्रतिशत लोग गरीबी से पीड़ित है वहां हम अपने अपने प्रेरणा स्रोतों को बहस के द्वारा सबसे अच्छा साबित कर भी दिया तो गरीबों को क्या लाभ होने वाला है । उन्हें तो इस बात की फ्रिक है । कि उनका अगला भोजन कहां से आयेगा । आस पास के दादाओं से कौन बचायेगा ? सर्वधर्म समभाव के बारे में हम अकसर यही कहते हैं कि प्रेरणा किसी भी गुरू से मिली हो, या किसी भी भगवान से लेकिन सवाल यह है कि आप करते क्या हो ? समाज में नफरत और अंशाति फैलाते हों या शांति और समानता ।

आंध्रप्रदेश के विशेष आर्थिक क्षेत्र और उससे जूड़ विस्थापन पर मैंने अलग से लिखा है । लेकिन भूमि सुधार को लेकर वारंगल जिले में जो उससे जूड़ अच्छा काम दिखाई उसके बारे में यहां लिख रहा हूं । वारंगल जिला एक समय नक्सल प्रभावित इलाका रहा है, लेकिन अब नक्सल प्रभावित गांव में ही भुमि सुधार का उपयोगी काम हो रहा है । जिला कलेक्टर श्री राहुल और संयुक्त कलेक्टर सुश्री करूणा ने मिल कर कुछ गांव के दीवारों में जमीन से संबंधित सब जानकारियों को लिखने लगे हैं । हर व्यक्ति इस चार्ट को देखकर समझ सकते है कि किसकी भूमि कहां और कितना है । अगर कोई ऋटि हो तो सुधारने के लिए आवेदन दे भी सकते हैं । कलेक्टर कार्यायल में ही भूमि सेल की स्थापना की है । कुछ वकीलों को इस काम में मद्द करने और उनके शिकायतों को देखने के लिए नियुक्त किये हैं । आम जनता के समस्याओं के प्रति संवेदनशील इन वकीलों से मिलकर और उनकी बात सुनकर सुखद आश्चर्य हुआ । हर जिलों में जरूर ऐसे वकीलों की टोली मिल सकती है । जिला प्रशासन से प्रोत्साहन मिलने से कई लोग इस प्रकार काम करने के लिए सामने आयेंगे । जिला प्रशासन के मुखिया जब आम लोगों की काम में रूचि लेने लगते हैं तब उनके नीचे काम करने वाले तमाम कर्मचारी भी रूचि लेने लगते हैं । वारंगल में करीब करीब यही हो रहा है । जिस तहसीलदार के कार्यालय का हमने भ्रमण किया वहां तमाम कर्मचारी आम जनता के प्रति संवेदनशील दिखाई पड़ा । जानकारियों को सुलभ कराने में और आम जनता के समस्याओं पर चर्चा करने के लिए अगर सरकारी कर्मचारी तैयार हो जाय तो आधी समस्या वैसे ही हल हो जायेगी । इसके विपरित अगर प्रशासन के मुखिया स्वंयम बहुराष्ट्रीय, राष्ट्रीय कंपनियों के दलाल जैसा व्यवहार करना शुरू करे तों पूरी प्रशासनिक ढ़ाचा उसी ओर मुडेंगें । वारगंल में एक और अच्छा काम हुआ है । प्रशासन ने वन विभाग व राजस्व विभाग को साथ बैठाकर आपसी विवादों को सुलझाना शुरू कर दिया है । विभागों के आपसी विवादों के कारण जमीन जोतने वाले कई लोग परेशान है । वन विभाग निरन्तर इन्हे परेशान कर रहे हैं और इनके खेतों में वृक्षारोपण कर रहे हैं । जिला प्रशासन के संयुक्त प्रयास से एक तरफ राजस्व विभाग के जमीन पर बसे हुए लोगों को सुरक्षा मिली है तो दुसरी ओर वन विभाग के जमीन पर बसे हुए लोगों को भूमि स्वामित्व मिला है तो दूसरी ओर वन विभाग के जमीन को जोतने वालों को फसल बचाने का मौका मिल जाता है । अगर यह प्रयोग वारंगल के कुछ गांव में हो सकता है तो देश के हर गांव में हो सकता है । जब देश के 70 प्रतिशत लोग खेती के काम में लगे है तो किसानों की समस्या हल करने के लिए इतना तो प्रयास हर सरकार को करना ही चाहिए । मध्यप्रदेश जैसे प्रांत में लाखों एकड़ जमीन विभागीय विवादों में फंसा हुआ है । जो वारंगल के कलेक्टर कर सकते हैं वही काम मध्यप्रदेश के कलेक्टर से भी कराया जा सकता है । मुझे यह डर जरूर लगा है कि जैसे जैसे आदिवासियों और दलितों की समस्या हल करने के में तभी आगे बढ़ेंगे । वैसे ही वारंगल के ताकतवर लोग उन्हे हटाने के अभियान में भी जूड़ेंगे । इस खतरे से मुक्ति तभी मिलेगी ? जब हर दल के नेता इस बात के लिए कमर कस लेंगे ? कि अब हमें सिर्फ बड़े लोगों को ही नही बल्कि वंचितों को भी न्याय दिलाना है । जिस देश के न्याय व्यवस्था निरन्तर सिर्फ पैसे वालों के लिए ही काम करेंगे, उस व्यवस्था को बदलना ही सही तरीका है । सवाल सिर्फ यह है कि इस बड़ी चुनौती को स्वीकारने के लिए कौन सी पार्टी तैयार है ?

आंध्रप्रदेश में बहुत दिनों से तेलंगाना आंदोलन चल रहा है । आंदोलनकारियों का कहना यही है कि संयुक्त प्रांत में उनके साथ न्याय नही हो रहा है ? इसलिए उन्हे अगल प्रांत चाहिए । ऐसा कई आंदोलन हमने पहले भी देखा है । आंदोलन के कारण छतीसगढ़, उतराखण्ड और झारखंड बना । कोई भी साधारण व्यक्ति इस बात को जांच सकते हैं कि छोटे प्रांत बनने से आम लोगों को कोई राहत मिली की नही मिली । इन प्रांतों में लोग कहने लगे हैं कि इससे अच्छा तो पहले था । छोटे प्रांतों में संसाधनों की जिस प्रकार की लूट मची है उसे देखकर घबराहट होने लगती है । विकास के नाम पर जल,जंगल, जमीन सब कुछ छीना जा रहा है । राष्ट्रीय बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनियों के हाथों में जीवन जीने के तमाम संसाधन सौंपा जा रहा है । कानून और नियम के धज्जियां उठा रहा है । विरोध करने वाले लोगों को पुलिस और गुण्डों के बल पर दबाया जा रहा है । यह सब कुछ विकास के नाम पर किया जा रहा है । मैं अपने मित्रों को सतर्क करने का प्रयास किया हूं कि छोटे प्रांत की कल्पना अपने आप में समस्याओं का हल नही है । छोटे प्रांत के आंदोलन के दरमियान अगर उन वंचितों के जीवन से जूड़े मुद्दों पर बहस नही होगी तो प्रांत बनने के बाद भी सरकार और वंचितों को कुछ नही मिलेगा । प्रांत तो बनेगा ? मंत्री मंडल भी होगें और तमाम सरकारी कर्मचारी भी नियुक्त होंगे आम जनता तब भी आवेदन लेकर हाथ जोडकर दर दर भटकते हुए दिखाई पड़ेगें । जैसे रायपुर में या रांची में हो रहा है, उसी प्रकार राजधानी और एयरपोर्ट के बनाने के लिए हजारों मजदुर और किसानों की कुर्बानी होगी । हवाई जहाज से सूटकेस लेकर उतरने वाले लोग तमाम जमीन खरीदेंगे । उस समय अन्याय के विरोध करने वालों पर अधिक दमन होगा । जैसे आज छतीसगढ़ और झारखंड में हो रहा है । छोटे प्रांत के सपना लेकर लड़ने वालों को अभी से सतर्क रहेना होगा । और जहां जहां नये प्रांत बने है वहां से सबक सीखना होगा ।

बुंदेलखण्ड प्रांत के नाम लड़ने वाले मेरे उत्तरप्रदेश और मध्यप्रदेश के मित्रों से भी मैं बार बार यही निवेदन करता हूं कि आंदोलन के कोख में ही परिवर्तन वादी बीज डालिए, अन्यथा एक राक्षस और पैदा होगा जो पहले से भी खतरनाक हो सकता है । विकेन्द्रीत सत्ता ही अगर हमारी आवश्यकता हो तो सबसे जरूरी ग्राम सभा को मजबूत करने का है । ग्राम सभा, विधान सभा और लोक सभा इसके अलावा और कोई सभा की जरूरत नही है । इसी तीन स्तर पर समस्यांए हल होनी चाहिए ।

आंध्रप्रदेश में दलित आंदोलन ताकतवर रूप में है पूरे 15 दिन के यात्रा में दलित आदिवासी मछुआरे और घुमंतु आदिवासियों के बीच में ही रहने का मौका मिला । कई सभा में दलित संगठनों के और वामपंथी दलों के स्थानीय लोग साथ-साथ उपस्थित हुए । गांधी जी ने जो ताबीज दी है ? उसके अनुसार सभी गांधीजनों को वही जगह काम करने की जरूरत है । पर जिनके बीच होकर हम हम गुजर रहे थे, जैसे गांधी के नाम लेने वाले राजनैतिक दल वंचित और पीडीतो से दूर हो गये, वैसे ही गांधी जी के नाम पर काम करने वाले सामाजिक संगठन भी धीरे धीरे आदिवासियों से, दलितों से, मछुवारों से दूर तो नही जा रहे हैं, गांधीजनों को इन बात पर गंभीरता से विचार करना होगा । समाज परिवर्तन के काम में लगे हुए लोगों को यह समझना ही होगा । हमारे बुद्धि और शक्ति की जरूरत उन्ही लोगों को अधिक है, जो आजाद भारत में आज भी गुलाम हैं । हमारी कार्यशैली में जो कमी है इसी के ही कारण गांधी जी वंचित समाज से दूर होते जा रहे हैं । गांधी जी को वंचितों के करीब ले जाने का दायित्व उन सबका है जो गांधी जी का नाम लेकर समाज में काम कर रहे हैं ।

Direct cash subsidy: Mirage in making!

SUBSIDY

Divergent views have been expressed with many questioning the very efficacy of the proposed system in the country…


Sopan Correspondent/ New Delhi


The government’s decision to move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fertiliser has sparked a debate in the country about its efficacy notwithstanding the present system of delivering the goods and services at subsidized rates to poor which has largely failed to give the desired results.

A cross section of experts holds divergent views on the issue, as some consider it a major attempt to improve delivery and circumvent corruption but others have serious reservations. Beyond that there are also questions about whether a full-proof system can be put in place in a country like India.
Actually a serious debate began with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s announcement during his budget speech that the government would provide a direct cash subsidy on kerosene and fertilisers to the poor from March 2012.

“To ensure greater cost efficiency and better delivery for both kerosene and fertilizer, the government will move toward direct transfer of cash subsidy for people below poverty line (BPL) in a phased manner,” Mukherjee said during his presentation of the Budget 2011-12.

A task force headed by the former top Infosys man, Nandan Nilekani, is working out the modalities for the proposed system of direct transfer of subsidy for kerosene, LPG and fertilisers, he informed, adding that the interim report of this task force was expected by June 2011.

At present, the government provides kerosene at subsidised rates to families living below the poverty line through the Public Distribution System (PDS). Furthermore, LPG is provided at a subsidised rate to all the households. As regards fertilisers, the government provides subsidy to companies so that farm inputs, which include urea and imported fertilisers, can be provided to farmers at cheaper rates.

Doubting the efficacy of the proposed system, development economist and National Advisory Council (NAC) member AK Shiva Kumar, though conceded that there is serious problem in the present system through which subsidy has not been reaching to those who deserve it or require it the most. “So, on the face of it the government’s plan for direct cash transfer appears to be a perfect solution to come of the rot. We have examples the world over, particularly in Latin America. But there the pattern is different. There the cash transfer is not a substitute of kind transfer.” The system is just supplementary, he added.

“If we adopt the system of direct cash transfer, it will not solve the problem of supply-side constraints. In our society we also need to worry about the power structure within the family. Who gets the money is an issue that needs to be looked into. There cannot be one general view on the matter. Cash transfers might work in some instances, such as in maternity benefits, and not in others,” Shiva Kumar said.

By raising the issue of power structure in the family, Dr Shiva Kumar actually intended to point out a different issue, which has a lot of social ramification. AS per the plan the government intends to transfer cash in the name of woman in the family. Through this the intention is to ensure that money is spent in the welfare of the family, as fairer sex in the family is generally considered to be most sensitive towards other members of the family. But there are arguments that this might lead to violence in the family. “If we leave the choice to individual family to buy whatever they want by transferring cash, it may lead to different kind of social ailment, which will create rather more poignant problem in the society,” said an expert.

Secondly, the experts argue that the main problem in the present system lies in the faulty PDS mechanism. “Do you think that the government would be able to dismantle the PDS shops? No, because subsidy can be calculated only the basis of a constant base price fixed by the government and that can be possible only through government shops,” many of the experts argue.

They say that in open market prices fluctuate with every drop of hat and if the poor are left to buy from the open market, the whole concept of providing cushion to them will go for a toss.

Therefore, even if direct cash subsidy is doled out to the targeted poor, PDS will continue to exist and the government would still look for policy intervention to weed out leakage, pilferage and black-marketing, as prices would certainly vary between APL price and open market. Poor may remain poor and their suffering would perpetuate eternally.

Blurb: In open market prices fluctuate with every drop of hat and if the poor are left to buy from the open market, the whole concept of providing cushion to them will go for a toss.

Task Force for Direct Transfer of Subsidies

A mechanism will be worked out for giving direct subsidies to check graft

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

With rampant corruption in the distributive mechanism, the government has constituted a Task Force to evolve a suitable mechanism for direct subsidies to individuals and families who are entitled to kerosene, LPG and fertiliser.

The Task Force, under the Chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), would also evolve a model of direct transfer of subsidies on these items by re-engineering existing systems, processes and procedures. It would also undertake designing appropriate IT systems and aligning these with the issuance of UID numbers, and bringing about changes in the administration and supply chain management.

Apart from Nilekani as Chairman, the Task Force will also consist of Secretaries from Departments and Ministries like Expenditure, Financial Services, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Agriculture, Food & Public Distribution, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Rural Development. It would submit its Interim report within four months of its constitution.

The recommendations of the interim report would be implemented on a pilot basis by the Ministries concerned under the supervision of the Task Force in the following six months from the date of submission of the interim report. The final report would be submitted thereafter which would include the results of the implementation of the solution on the field.

The need for constitution of the task force arose as the Government of India provides kerosene at subsidised prices to BPL families under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and there is overwhelming evidence that this policy is resulting in waste, leakage, adulteration and inefficiency.

“Therefore, it is imperative that the system of delivering the subsidised Kerosene be reformed urgently,” an official added. The system of provision and delivery of subsidised LPG to intended beneficiaries needs to be similarly reformed.

As of today, fertiliser subsidy is available to all farmers. It is not possible to differentiate the segments for which the subsidy should be given in this sector. There is a need to evolve a suitable mechanism for direct subsidies to individuals who are entitled to them.

Draft Food Security Bill almost ready

FOOD

Differences between Rangarajan panel and ground realities to be sorted out

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

There is still hope for millions of people living below the poverty line in the country.

After reservations were expressed on the proposed Food Security Bill, the government has now said the draft Food Security Bill, which entitles nearly two-thirds of the population to subsidised foodgrains, was almost ready. The Bill will legally entitle up to 70 per cent of population to subsidised foodgrains as against the NAC's proposal to cover 75 per cent.

“We are going to introduce the Food Security Bill, almost 65-70 per cent of the population are going to get the benefit,” Food Minister K V Thomas said at the National Conference on “Policy for foodgrains storage, handling and transportation”.

The National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Sonia Gandhi, had recommended to the government to grant legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to 75% of population covering both priority and general households.

But the Rangarajan Committee had raised concerns over foodgrain availability and suggested that it would be “feasible” to cover the “priority” households, and foodgrains could be given to “general” category based on the availability.

On difference of view expressed by the two prominent bodies on covering the number of beneficiaries under the law, Thomas said there was not much difference between the proposals suggested by the NAC and the Rangarajan Committee, except for above poverty line (APL) families.

He said the issue of APL will be addressed and the government will come to some kind of conclusion on this, adding that the matter will be discussed again with the Rangarajan Committee.

At present, the government provides 35 kg of food grains to 6.52 crore families below poverty line (BPL) through ration shops. Wheat is provided at Rs 4.15 per kg and rice at Rs 5.65 per kg.

Pointing out the urgency of strengthening storage capacity in the wake of higher requirement of foodgrains under the proposed food bill, the minister said “We need to improve our storage infrastructure through involvement of private sector.” As a result, the Food Ministry has proposed the Finance Ministry to consider providing fiscal and tax incentives and other facilities in the forthcoming budget to boost private investment in developing warehouse infrastructure.

Implementing NAC's proposal would required 60 million tonnes of foodgrains. At present, the government has foodgrains storage capacity of 50 million tonnes. Extra space to store about 15 million tonnes will be added in next 3-4 years.

An expert committee headed by C Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, last month said the provisions envisaged by the NAC for the Food Security Bill may be difficult to implement. It said the provisions have to be re-worked and fine-tuned due to non-availability of foodgrain, the potential distortion of open market food prices and the huge implications entailed by subsidy.

The committee said it will not be possible to implement NAC recommended food entitlements for either of the two phases and has pointed towards the ground economic, agricultural and storage facilities which are far from satisfactory.

The committee also warned against shortfall in procurement and said a larger procurement has danger of distorting the food prices in the open markets. It estimated the subsidy burden under the scheme to be Rs 92,060 crore in the final phase, against NAC projections of Rs 79,930 crore and said that the actual subsidy burden would be higher. The large food grain procurement would also require higher minimum support prices and imports, which would increase the fiscal burden.

sopanstep@gmail.com

New Food policy required

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

There could be a possible steep rise in the food prices during 2011 as per the alert issued by The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to the developing countries.

The FAO said that with the pressure on world prices of most commodities not abating, the international community must remain vigilant against further supply shocks in 2011. India is no different in the backdrop of the global scenario.

The central government has already made it clear that there is need to increase farm production and productivity if the National Food Security Act was to be implemented. To provide food at subsidised rates to the BPL (below poverty line) and APL (above party line) families, at least 65 million tonnes of foodgrains were required for the buffer stocks.

At present, the government has a policy of promoting various zones for different crops to meet the future requirements of the country. While Punjab would continue to be the main producer of wheat, deliberations with the State government, experts, research organisations and farmers' groups would be initiated to find a replacement for paddy. This would be done to ease pressure on the groundwater requirement. The government would ensure that the replacement crop provided better returns to farmers.

The farm sector already suffers from shrinking of farm land and also labour shortage after the implementation of the NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). These have to be overcome and the yield per area increased to meet the growing demand.

Suggestions have already been made about the need for the second green revolution based on modern technologies and specific solutions to various problems faced by the farm sector. Though agriculture contributed to just 17 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product, it was the biggest security net of the common man in the country.

Experts want an income orientation to agriculture through higher productivity per unit of land and assured and remunerative marketing opportunities. In addition, prevailing mismatch between production and post-harvest technologies should come to en end. Grain storage facilities have to be created on a large scale without delay, they argue. States like Bihar, which by-passed the Green revolution earlier, have to be targeted in a big way given the food scenario in the country at present with appropriate incentives in technology, infusion of funds and other modern inputs.

Needs, comforts and luxuries at same price

All sold at Rs 65: Onion (1 kg) petrol (1litre) and Beer (1 bottle)

All citizens – irrespective of their earnings – are a worried lot. Food inflation was above 15 per cent at the end of January. While the vegetable prices soared by 67.07 per cent on annual basis, onion became expensive by 111.58 per cent. Prices of eggs, meat and fish went up by 13.58 per cent year-on-year while cereal prices, too, went up marginally by 0.53 per cent. Fuel and power also became dearer by 10.87 per cent year-on-year.

Besides vegetables, fruits, milk and other protein-based items have gone out of reach of the lower middle class and the middle class is finding it difficult to adjust themselves in this high price regime.

Watching the current trend of price rise, RBI has raised the March-end forecast of headline inflation to 7 per cent from 5.5 per cent earlier. Reserve Bank of India's Deputy Governor, Subir Gokarn has said that oil, food price rise is likely to impact inflation outlook in 2011.

The farmer continues to be burdened by debts, both from banks and other institutions. Imperfections in agricultural marketing and lack of post-harvest food management infrastructure, such as efficient transport, cold chains, agro-processing units etc have largely contributed to the problem. This deficiency is apparent also from the huge difference between farm-gate prices and consumer prices. Besides, poor post-harvest handling of farm produce leads to substantial, albeit avoidable, losses, estimated at over 30 per cent in the case of perishables like fruits and vegetables. At the time of sowing, farmers are seldom sure of what will be the fate of the season’s output. Such flawed and knee-jerk policy reactions seem to stem partly from a lack of a reliable mechanism for foreseeing production and hence likely prices of crops. The government, both at the Centre and the states, has failed to act.

Will the people continue to bear the high prices or will the government and policy makers act? Will there be a long term thinking or merely knee jerk reaction? Will there be another Green Revolution or the per acre yield continue to be what it is? These are the tough questions which the people are asking now. It was time the government came out with appropriate response and solution.

Food not on platter!

With policy-makers sharply divided, the country’s wait for Food Security Bill gets longer

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

An expert committee of the government, headed by C Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, has said the provisions envisaged by the National Advisory Council (NAC) for the Food Security Bill may be difficult to implement. It said the provisions have to be re-worked and fine-tuned due to non-availability of foodgrain, the potential distortion of open market food prices and the huge implications entailed by subsidy.

The committee, the report of which has been made public, said it will not be possible to implement NAC recommended food entitlements for either of the two phases and has pointed towards the ground economic, agricultural and storage facilities which are far from satisfactory.

As per the NAC recommendations, 75 per cent of the population was to be covered in phase-II in 2013-14. Against these, the Rangarajan committee has recommended assured delivery of wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg to about 46 per cent of rural and 28 per cent of urban population.

The committee also warned against shortfall in procurement and said a larger procurement has danger of distorting the food prices in the open markets. It estimated the subsidy burden under the scheme to be Rs 92,060 crore in the final phase, against NAC projections of Rs 79,930 crore and said that the actual subsidy burden would be higher. The large food grain procurement would also require higher minimum support prices and imports, which would increase the fiscal burden.

Experts have criticised the report saying the Food Security Bill was important in the country and is a must. NAC members M S Swaminathan and Jean Dreze have come out strongly against the recommendations and underlined the need for a food security law in the country. Another NAC member NC Saxena too voiced his opposition to the position taken by the committee saying he was opposed to the diluted implementation of the proposal.

The Rangarajan panel has suggested long-term measures, including increasing foodgrain production, creating a stable procurement regime, comprehensive computerisation of PDS, introduction of smart cards for the beneficiaries and tasking the state governments with the identification of beneficiaries. It has also suggested a different entitlement, less than that of the NAC recommendation.

In the corruption-ridden Public Distribution System at present, the government provides 35 kg of food grains to 6.52 crore families below poverty line through ration shops. Wheat is provided at Rs 4.15 per kg and rice at Rs 5.65 per kg. Ironically, it was the poll promise of the UPA government to provide 25 kgs of food grain at Rs 3 per kg in its election manifesto.

It is a matter of debate now as to how will the government resolve the impasse between the recommendations of the Rangarajan committee and the express desire of the NAC on the Food Bill. Over 20 months have passed since the government took over on this promise but inability to come to a consensus has eluded millions of hungry who were looking for government intervention to end their woes. Will the NAC over-rule the panel? This is the question dominating the discussion amongst the stakeholders.
sopanstep@gmail.com