UPDATE 20: Latest Developments

Dear friends,

This Update discusses a sample of recent developments in various states. As always, we are unable to keep track of all the relevant activities, given the decentralised nature of the campaign. We take this opportunity to remind you that we are always interested in news from the field. Please send any useful information you may have to right2food@yahoo.co.in

Today's headlines:

1. MID-DAY MEAL UPDATE

2. UPDATE ON RECENT PUBLIC HEARINGS

3. MADHYA PRADESH: CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

4. ORISSA: CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

5. VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN U.P.

6. COMMISSIONER TO VISIT UTTAR PRADESH

7. REMINDER: BHOPAL WORKSHOP ON UNDERNUTRITION AND STARVATION

8. WEBSITE UPGRADE

1. MID-DAY MEAL UPDATE

The campaign for universal mid-day meals in primary schools is in full swing as children flock back to school after the summer vacation. Here is a sample of recent developments:

 (1) Full implementation in Karnataka: The Karnataka government extended the mid-day meal scheme to all districts in the first week of July (before that, the scheme was restricted to 7 districts).  Initial media reports highlight cases of children falling ill as

well as parental objections to the appointment of Dalit cooks. Some parents from Government schools in the districts of Tumkur, Mysore and Chamarajnagar refused to allow their children to eat school lunches prepared by Dalit women. Moreover, inferior quality of food grains and unhygienic cooking conditions are said to be the reasons for students taking ill. According to newspaper reports, the Government has ordered an inquiry into the incidents. To put things in perspective, "teething problems" of this kind have been a feature of the initial phase of mid-day meal schemes in many states. The situation typically improves over time. This is not to diminish the importance of the quality issues that emerge from these incidents.

 (2) MDMs in Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi launched a "cooked mid-day meal" programme in about 400 primary schools in capital on July 4, 2003 in collaboration with various NGOs and  (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). It is reported that children relished the lentil, rice and 'suji halwa' laid out on sparkling steel plates by the volunteers of ISKCON on the first day of the programme. ISKCON has agreed to provide cooked meals to 1,265 students in five schools near its temple in South Delhi as of now. It remains to be seen how the Delhi Government proposes to implement Supreme Court orders in the vast majority of schools not included in this project.

 (3) MDM Research: A field survey of mid-day meals in three states  (Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh) was launched earlier this year by a research team based at the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi. The study is nearing completion and a preview of the main findings is to be published in Frontline on 1 August. Here are some highlights of the summary report:

"The survey suggests that school meals have made a promising start around the country. However, there are serious quality issues, which need urgent attention if mid-day meal programmes are to realise their full potential.

On the positive side, mid-day meals have led to impressive increases in school participation. Taking the 81 sample schools together, Class-1 enrolment rose by 15% after mid-day meals were introduced.   Especially impressive is the increase of 29% in female enrolment in the sample villages of Rajasthan in class 1. Informal evidence reveals that mid-day meals have also enhanced daily school attendance.

The survey did not find much evidence of open caste discrimination in the context of mid-day meals, such as separate sitting arrangements.  Pupils of all social backgrounds seem to be quite happy to sit together and share the same food. However, caste prejudices do prevail in various forms, as when upper-caste parents insist on

Their children coming home for lunch. Also, there is much resistance to the appointment of Dalit cooks. In Karnataka, half of the cooks are Dalits, but in Rajasthan, the survey did not find any Dalit cooks except in some all-Dalit villages.

The quality of school-meal programmes seems significantly better in Karnataka than in Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan. Karnataka has made comparatively good progress in building a sound infrastructure for mid-day meals: most cooks enjoy the assistance of a "helper", and a substantial proportion of schools (31 per cent) already have a pacca kitchen. In contrast, the mid-day meal infrastructure in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan is still highly inadequate: most cooks have to manage on their own in the most challenging circumstances, without elementary facilities such as a helper, kitchen or proper utensils.

Mid-day meals are quite popular in each of the three sample states. Alarge majority of parents (91%) and teachers (84%) favour the continuation of the mid-day meal scheme. Those who advocate discontinuation belong mainly to privileged castes or classes who seem to see mid-day meals as a threat to the prevailing social hierarchy."

 (4) In a pioneering initiative, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) proposes to start "monitoring" the mid-day meal scheme in Chhattisgarh through monthly visits to every school in six sample districts. The short questionnaire to be used for these monthly inspections will be posted in the "Mid-day meals" section of the website (www.righttofood.com) very soon, for possible use elsewhere.

Readers interested in this initiative are invited to contact Mr. Lakhan Singh, BGVS-Chhattisgarh (cgbgvs@rediffmail.com).

2. UPDATE ON RECENT PUBLIC HEARINGS

As mentioned in earlier Updates (available on the website, in case you missed them), there was a wave of public hearings on the right food last June, notably in Chittorgarh (Rajasthan), Kalahandi  (Orissa), Dindori (Madhya Pradesh), Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh) and Sendwa (Madhya Pradesh again). In all cases, there has been active follow-up of the issues raised at the public hearing. In particular,  cases of violations of the right to food have been taken up with the concerned authorities, with varying degrees of success. In some cases, as in Dindori, there was extensive on-the-spot redressal at the public hearing itself (see Update 19). In others, as in Shahdol  (M.P.), partial successes in securing redressal during the follow-up phase have been mixed with incidents of suppression and repression. Below is a digest of recent feedback received from some of these areas:

 (1) Dindori: Following the Jan Sunwai (public hearing) held on the 8 June 2003 at village Dhaba, district Dindori (M.P.), there has been encouraging progress on the decisions taken that day. The Baiga Mahapanchayat that organised the Jan Sunwai has informed Dr. Mihir Shah, advisor to the Commissioners for M.P., that the district administration has moved fast on distribution of Antyodaya cards to all members of the Baiga "primitive" tribe as per the latest order of the Supreme Court. The process is expected to be completed soon. As direct result of the Jan Sunwai, employment programmes have also begun in many forest villages where they had been stalled for years due to restrictions imposed by the Forest Department. The District Collector has sent Dr. Mihir Shah a copy of his instructions to all line departments to take urgent steps to act upon the nearly 50 complaints received during the Jan Sunwai from the Baigas regarding non-payment of wages, corruption related matters, etc. The Baiga Mahapanchayat is closely monitoring action on this.

 (2) Shivpuri: We have received a follow-up report on the Shivpuri public hearing (30 May 2003) from S.K. Singh of Sahariya Jan Andolan in Shivpuri. According to this report: "Shivpuri Jansunwai has created frantic ripples in the district. The machinery has been very quick to act upon the demands raised in the memorandum. No effort was made by any quarter to refute the allegations. The points raised in the memorandum were taken up in the district drought relief meetings and block level janpad meetings, the information given in the memorandum was totally verifiable, thus CEO and Sarpanch had no defence." The demands that have been dealt with include: outstanding payments to labourers employed on relief works; action against persons responsible for embezzling grain from the public distribution system; water supply arrangements in drought-affected villages;  distribution of Antyodaya cards to Sahariya families; starting of relief works in villages where there were none before.

The report adds: "The sarpanch, secretaries and the block CEO seem agitated and upset of the activist as the information provided by them has been used against them as a result of which they have shown keen interest in helping the sangathan in every possible manner in future... While local community is happy that jansunwai was helpful in raising their concerns, local PRI and block functionaries did not like it They are feeling very embarrassed. Shivnarayan , the local activist is being cornered and provoked by name calling and threats of "we will see you."

3. MADHYA PRADESH: CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

Much has happened in recent weeks in Sheopur district, western  Pradesh. This is one of the most deprived areas of M.P., with extremely high levels of undernutrition, especially among the Sahariyas. On 26-28 June, an intensive training on the "three Rs"  (right to food, the right to work and the right to information) took place at the ashram of Ekta Parishad, a radical Gandhian active in the area. About 50 activists of Ekta Parishad took part in this gathering. The training focused particularly on the problem of corruption in relief works and food schemes, which has deprived thousands of Sahariya families of their entitlements in recent months. Many trainees are now investigating cases of corruption in employment programmes and food schemes in their respective areas.

Around the same time, a team led by Shonali Sen, assistant to the Commissioners, started investigating corruption in relief works in the area, and other violations of the right to food. It did not take long for shocking instances of corruption to come to the surface.  Following on this, the team initiated a "case study" of village Hirapur, about 20 kms from the district headquarters. This involved   long hunt for the "muster rolls" of recent relief works. The team was sent from pillar to post by the local administration, and whenever muster rolls did surface, evidence of corruption quickly emerged. The team is preparing a detailed report on the food situation in Sheopur,  on behalf of Dr. N.C. Saxena. The report will be released soon, andposted on the website.

4. ORISSA: CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

 (Excerpts from a recent communication received from Orissa.) A one-day Consultative Meet of activists of Right to Food Campaign was organized at Agragamee Orissa Office on 17 June 2003 to chalk out future course of action for strengthening the campaign in the state.  Mr. Sudarshan Das presided over the meeting. At the outset, Mr. Pradip Pradhan gave a quick overview on the chronological development of the activities of Right to Food Campaign in the state. He briefed about the Supreme Court verdict on the writ petition filed by PUCL,  with appeal to direct the government to ensure food security to the poor living amidst hunger and starvation despite deposit of huge tones of food-grain in FCI go-down. He also suggested that like rallies, dharanas and public hearings should be taken up at a national level. Mr. Raj Kishore Mishra presented the findings of the Public hearing organized in Kerpai Panchayat of Thuamul Rampur Block of Bolangir district on 4.6.02.

 After prolonged discussion on the suggestions given by the participants, the following decisions were unanimously taken in the meeting:

1) A state-level Public Hearing will be organized in Bhubaneswar in the month of October.

2) A study on Implementation of Supreme Court Verdict in the state will be undertaken and Mr. Sasikant Nayak and Mr. Naran Jena were given the responsibility to prepare the format and questionnaire for the study, which will be finalized in the first week of July.

3) State-level campaign committee will be formed to spearhead the campaign on the Right to Food in the state.

4) Other issues relating to Food Security will be taken up.

5) Few blocks will be identified to experiment the right to food activities in the state.

5. VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN U.P.

 (Based on communication received from Sanjay Rai, Lucknow.) Even though people working under SGRY in Mau District, situated in the Eastern part of the state Uttar Pradesh, are entitled to Rs. 23 and 5 kg of rice per working day, the workers have only received the cash allowance and not the rice for the period between April 2002 and March 2003. On average, about 100 kg of rice is already owed to each worker under the scheme. Considering the low cash payment, the people and their families are highly dependent on this rice ration. It is reported that 584,5 tons of rice has been issued to the Local Marketing Inspector, out of which only 247 tons have been delivered further to the Gram Panchayats (village administrations). Even these 247 tons did not reach the people they were meant for: the total amount of missing rice comprises over 500 tons! Although the responsible inspector apologised on 26 April 2003 and promised to distribute the missing rice within a week, nothing has happened.  Furthermore, some district authorities have claimed that the "disappeared" rice, which was meant for the poor, is sold in the black market of the neighbouring states.

In Bharaich, U.P. displaced people have been denied BPL Ration Cards. Bharaich is one of the most backward districts of UP. Though it has rich natural resources in terms of water and forest, the main source of water, Ghaghra River, has been shifting its course since 2000.  About 1200 families in the last 2 years have been displaced. The main           occupation of these families was agriculture but the river has submerged all their land. There is no land with the local Gram- panchayats for redistribution and the government is providing sandy land to the families for relocation. Since there are no forests or ponds in the area and no scope for labour, people do not want to settle there. Women are especially facing problems due to this situation. Since there is no opportunity for agriculture due to loss of land, people are solely dependent upon labour work for which they migrate to cities like Lucknow, Delhi, Ludhiana and Amritsar.  However, because of unavailability of labour even in these cities,  people are coming back empty handed. This has become the main cause of food insecurity. The displaced people have no grain. Some of them manage through either loan or labour work. Some displaced people take a loan for their food requirement. Since the loan provider is only local moneylender he has been lending money at the rate of Rs.10/hundred/month. Visthapit Sangharsh Morcha (a people's organisation for the displaced) with support of FIAN-U.P has been arranging meetings with victims for the identification of displaced families that are entitled to BPL cards and to create pressure on the government.

6. COMMISSIONER TO VISIT UTTAR PRADESH

Dr. N.C. Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, is about to spend a few days in Lucknow and surrounding areas, to investigate the food situation there. He is particularly concerned about Uttar Pradesh's failure to introduce mid-day meals in primary schools - a clear violation of Supreme Court orders. Dr. Saxena will be holding meetings with high-levels civil servants (including the Chief Secretary and the Secretary to the Chief Minister), as well as with individuals and organisations involved in the right to food campaign there. He will also be spending time in the field, notably in Barawan  (district Hardoi), where much has happened in recent months (see earlier Updates).

7. REMINDER: BHOPAL WORKSHOP ON UNDERNUTRITION AND STARVATION

"Hunger Watch Group", a group of medical professionals, will be organising a training workshop in Bhopal on 16-17 August. The participants will be learning and discussing rigorous methods of documenting "starvation deaths", developed recently by Hunger Watch Group. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr.  Abhay Shukla of CEHAT, who is one of the organisers of the meeting (cehatpun@vsnl.com).

8. WEBSITE UPGRADE

The campaign website (www.righttofood.com) has just been reloaded. The new version features an improved design, aimed at easier navigation, as well as a good deal of new material. Hindi  translations of the key documents are also being added regularly.  Some pages are still under construction, and we hope that you will bear with us until these pages become available. In case you have any comments or queries on the website, please drop in a line at:  right2food@yahoo.co.in