Dear friends,

This is a short update to alert you to some forthcoming events. A longer update is on the anvil. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

STRUGGLE FOR A FULL-FLEDGED EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

The struggle for a full-fledged "Employment Guarantee Act" continues. The "National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill 2004" (NREGB 2004) was tabled in Parliament on 21 December 2004, on the same day as the "display of banners"
on Parliament Street. However NREGB 2004 is a pale shadow of earlier drafts. In fact it is so diluted that it defeats the purpose of an Employment Guarantee Act. For the full text of the Bill, and various critiques, see the "employment guarantee" section at www.righttofoodindia.org

The Bill has been referred to a Standing Committee of Parliament and is likely to come back to Parliament towards the end of the Budget Session.
Meanwhile a large number of organisations are trying to counter the dilution of the Act through submissions to the Standing Committee, lobbying of Members of Parliament, public statements, and various forms of grassroots action. More information on this will be circulated soon. If you are interested in regular "updates" on employment guarantee, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com

12-18 MARCH: TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR EGA ACTIVISTS

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has agreed to conduct a training workshop for activists working in "Food For Work" districts, with special focus on social audits of the FFW programme. This training will be held on
12-18 March 2005 in Udaipur. Participants are expected from Rajasthan, Sonebhadra (U.P.), Surguja (Chhattisgarh) and Palamau (Jharkhand), among other places. If you are interested, please let us know or write directly to MKSS at mkssrajasthan@gmail.com

9 MARCH: WORKSHOP ON THE PDS

A workshop on the public distribution system will be held at the Indian Social Institute on Wednesday 9 March. The main purpose of the workshop is to guide legal intervention on the PDS, in the context of the public interest litigation initiated by PUCL-Rajasthan. For details, background material etc. please send a line to Kumaran (kumran@gmail.com).

10 MARCH: MEETING TO PLAN FUTURE ACTIVITIES

The secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign is convening an important meeting on Thursday 10 March at the Indian Social Institute (10 am to 2 pm), to discuss forthcoming activities of the campaign as well as some organisational issues. The main items on the agenda are: further action for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act; further interventions in the Supreme Court; other proposed activities; suggestions for the next annual "convention"; and setting up of a new campaign secretariat in Delhi. This is an important opportunity to set work priorities for the campaign secretariat and all concerned organisations are cordially invited, especially those that participated in the Bhopal convention in June 2004 and/or the "display of banners" on 21 December 2004. For further details please send contact Navjyoti (nj12@rediffmail.com, tel 9811087811).

5 MAY: RALLY FOR UNORGANISED SECTOR WORKERS IN DELHI