The National Food Security Act: the promise and the challenge

By

Randeep Wadehra

Setting the agenda for the second edition of UPA the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in her letter dated 12 June, 2009, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sent a draft copy of the Right to Food (Guarantee of Safety and Security) Act (also known as National Food Security Act – NFSA), as a step towards fulfilling the party’s poll promise of food security for all. This proposed Act intends to ensure food security to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. The draft proposes to make freedom from hunger and malnutrition a fundamental right. It will “provide for and assert the physical, economic and social right of all citizens to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with an adequate diet necessary to lead an active and healthy life with dignity…”

The intended beneficiary households will include those headed by single women, adults suffering from leprosy, HIV or mental illness, bonded labour, destitute persons dependent on alms for survival for 20 days a month, vulnerable landless agricultural workers or self-employed artisans, elders living alone or with dependents, rag pickers, construction workers, street vendors, cycle rickshaw drivers and domestic workers and such other needy sections of the society. In order to identify these beneficiaries, and update the available data, a nationwide survey would be conducted every five years. They would be provided with appropriate identity cards and other documents. This will enable them to purchase thirty five kilograms of cereal at Rs. 3/- per kg. Moreover, those aged above 65 years, single women and disabled people would have the option to have meals at eateries specially established for the purpose. These may be at the schools covered by the mid-day meal scheme or the Integrated Child Development Services centres.

The act also envisages the issuing of special ID cards to all households affected by natural disasters and communal riots where entitlements available under NREGA employment, pension and supplementary nutrition under ICDS would be doubled for one year. The proposed scheme also has provisions for admission to all school-age children of identified families in government schools; doubling of the quota of food for children below six years, mothers and adolescent girls; doubling of the quota of maternity entitlements to all pregnant and lactating mothers in these households; and coverage to the elderly, widows and disabilities pension at the maximum scale prevailing in the state.
Needless to say that both the Public Distribution System as well as general governance will be have to be firmed up in order to ensure proper and fair implementation of the said Act. Monitoring of the procurement and distribution processes, computerization of all relevant records and prompt redress of grievances will be the hallmark of this Act.

This is a huge task indeed. The estimates of people below poverty line at the national level vary from survey to survey. For instance the World Bank places the figure at 456 millions (42% of the total Indian population). This represents one third of the global population of those living below the global poverty line of $1.25 per day.

On the other hand, the Planning Commission of India uses its own criteria and has estimated that 27.5% of the population was living below the poverty line in 2004–2005, down from 51.3% in 1977–1978, and 36% in 1993-1994. The source for this was the 61st round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) and the criterion used was monthly per capita consumption expenditure below Rs. 356.35 for rural areas and Rs. 538.60 for urban areas. 75% of the poor are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, self-employed householders and landless labourers.

Although Haryana is one of the most prosperous states in the Indian Union it is not entirely free of poverty. According to some estimates the number of poor in the state forms about 31% of the total population. The extent of poverty is the highest among the landless. Various surveys have clearly established the fact that lack of regular and gainful employment opportunities, absence or poor quality of skills, higher dependency ratio, low literacy rate, meagre household income, lack of irrigation facilities, uncertainty of rainfall, etc are the main causes of poverty in certain pockets of Haryana. Although poverty alleviation programs a

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