The question again remains: Is the law really as nasty as could not be palatable to the street? Or is it that in the raging controversy what went unnoticed was some of the wonderful features of NFSA that if presented in a fair manner before the people might have won plaudits for the introducers.
|| K. LEADER DESK
At the time when different voices over the NFSA implementation are being heard from all sides in Jammu and Kashmir, the general masses are in a fix, wondering whether the new food act would be for their benefit. They deem it as an attempt by the authorities to starve Kashmiris at large. What the government need at the onset is to come out of the oblivion and make masses understand the dimensions of much hyped NFSA. The public uproar against the National Food Security Act is the hot news in currency for the past one or two weeks in the troubled Kashmir. Is the act really such a bad piece of legislation that it has evoked condemnation from even the separatists who otherwise shy away from raking up issues they perceive “civil” in character? One thing is clear.
The alacrity with which the state government sought to spread out the process for its implementation made the things only more egregious. That in the cacophony of public opprobrium, the state government itself was confused is evidenced by the fact that while in one breath its ministers termed the rolling out of the law in the state as the “biggest achievement” of PDP-BJP coalition, in another breath they accused the erstwhile National Conference-Congress government for bringing this law to the state. In the face of stiff street resistance to the act, the PDP government’s predicament was manifest— it wanted to have its cake and eat it too.
The National Conference on the other hand made every effort – and succeeded too to a great deal— to come out “unscathed” in this controversy. In order to strike a positive chord with the street voice, NC working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah tactfully and politically outwitted both the PDP as well as the NC’s former alliance partner, the Congress. He made us to believe that despite the Congress pressure, the NC had opposed the food law though without explaining to the people was it worth opposing either. The question again remains: Is the law really as nasty as could not be palatable to the street? Or is it that in the raging controversy what went unnoticed was some of the wonderful features of NFSA that if presented in a fair manner before the people might have won plaudits for the introducers. The two major reasons for which the act is being opposed tooth and nail in Kashmir are: A huge chunk of people are left out of the scheme and secondly there will be reduction in the ration quota under the act in respect of some consumers who as per the policy in vogue are getting 35 kg/family.
But both the provisions in the act seem to be reasonable. The reduction in the ration quota has more to do with the average family size (particularly in Srinagar district). The less the family size, the less the amount of subsidized ration you will be entitled to and viceversa. Likewise, most of the people left out comprise persons with income of more than Rs 25 lakh per annum, persons holding constitutional positions including ministers, legislators, employees of the state and the central government in gazetted cadre and persons owing more than 80 kanal of the land individually or 20 kanals of land in joint family.
The two major reasons for which the act is being opposed tooth and nail in Kashmir are: A huge chunk of people are left out of the scheme and secondly there will be reduction in the ration quota under the act in respect of some consumers who as per the policy in vogue are getting 35 kg/family.
Why should those persons be at all given any subsidy? Giving them subsidy is unreasonable and is tantamount to impinging upon the rights of the poor who deserve to receive the subsidy. Amid “bad” PR exercise by the PDP in this regard what went unnoticed was some of the wonderful features of the NFSA 2013, whose basic objective is to “provide food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people.” Perhaps our public information mandarins forgot to tell us that the act has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children. The act provides “meal to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the child birth, such women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000. Children up to 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional standards.
In case of nonsupply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive food security allowance.” And the most outstanding feature of the act is that it provides for setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at the district and state levels. Our PDS which has been marred by corruption and leakages would be replaced by a system that has separate provisions for ensuring transparency and accountability. According to some estimates in the PDS delivery around 51 per cent of the food delivered is lost to leakages.
It is sold on the open market for a higher price. Yes, our concern is that the act provides for coverage of only up to 75 per cent of the rural population and only up to 50 per cent of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The state, if really mandated, could expand its coverage. None can stop the state to devise a separate system running parallel to the regime under the act to plug the holes wherever found. It can raise the 5 kg foodgrains per person per month quota at subsidised prices to 6 kg. Despite the positives in the bill, it does not mean there are no negatives. One of the concerns is that the food grains will be distributed through the already existing PDS (Public Distribution System), which has many loopholes.
The National Conference on the other hand made every effort – and succeeded too to a great deal— to come out “unscathed” in this controversy. In order to strike a positive chord with the street voice, NC working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah tactfully and politically outwitted both the PDP as well as the NC’s former alliance partner, the Congress. He made us to believe that despite the Congress pressure, the NC had opposed the food law though without explaining to the people was it worth opposing either.
The government would have to ensure that the leakages in the system are plugged and quality of the food grains is improved. It also needs to check the corruption in the system. There is also need for softening the criteria so that the number of poor is calculated correctly. A single reasonable yardstick needs to be adopted to reach the correct number of poor in the state. The act provides that it shall be the responsibility of every state government to create and maintain scientific storage sites; suitably strengthen capacities of their Food and Civil Supplies; and establish institutionalised licensing for FPS (fair price shops). The state while implementing the law needs to focus more on these provisions. Since long we needed a legislation to provide food for needy.
Let this legislation in real sense prove to be that. Raees Parray a student of Mass Communication and Journalism adds that NFSA cries get louder more and more by passing of every day. Once Kashmir used to be under curfew for months and still no one died of hunger. Kashmir’s such a self sustenance proved worrisome for many. Had there been any other Indian state under wuch a dreadful constant curfew, people there would have starved to death- Kashmiris didn’t. But recently in Kashmir, we have witnessed lot of hue and cry over National Food Security Act (NFSA) which was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. People of valley took to streets to express their anger against what they termed anti-people measure. Let’s put it apart what the act is all about. Who do you think is responsible for this growing problem? Of course it is we the people of Kashmir who are responsible for the NSFA implementation. It is due to our deeds indeed.
Had people of valley not converted paddy fields into orchards, we won’t have witnessed such demonstrations on the streets of Srinagar. We are responsible for what we face today. There was a time when apple business was one of the main sources of income for Kashmir. But alas! Today we can’t generate that income which was there decades ago. Time is not far when there will be no value of Kashmiri apples in Indian markets, because with the introduction American apples by Narander Modi, Kashmiri apple has lost its value. People prefer American apples over Kashmir apples nowadays. On the other side, we continue to convert our fields into orchards. Furthermore, we want freedom. Freedom doesn’t come the way we seek it.
People have to see harsh times after independence that we are not ready to accept. State government should take concrete steps to ensure that in future no one would try to convert fertile lands into orchards and ban should be imposed on construction on paddy fields. We could only look forward at our agriculture to sustain us in harsh times ahead.
Raees Parray is the student of Mass Communication and Journalism