UPDATE 41: NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD & WORK

Dear friends,

This is the first of a new series of "right to food updates". The Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign, based on communications from individuals and organizations working on the right to food and related issues all over the country. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website www.righttofoodindia.org for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.

This Update begins with an invitation to the "second national convention on the right to food and work", to be held in Kolkata on 18-20 November 2005. Please mark these dates in your diary, and don't postpone train bookings for too long as this is peak season for the Indian Railways.

Today's headlines:

1. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK
2. "EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT" - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
3. NEW PRIMER ON THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT
4. DRAFT PRIMERS ON MID-DAY MEALS AND ICDS
5. NEW STUDIES ON MID-DAY MEALS
6. MASSIVE "JAMIN ADHIKAR" RALLY (SURAT, 20th SEPTEMBER)
7. RECENT REPORTS OF HUNGER DEATHS
8. WORKSHOP ON COURT ORDERS (NAGPUR, 16-18 SEPTEMBER)
9. NEW STUDY ON CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN FOOD PROGRAMMES
10. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT COMES INTO FORCE

1. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

The second "national convention on the right to food and work" will be held in Kolkata on 18-20 November 2005. This is a follow-up to the first national convention, held in Bhopal on 11-13 June 2004, and also to the convention on "Employment Guarantee the Right to Work" held in Ranchi on 17-19 June 2005 as part of the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra. We expect a good turn-out from all over the country, and also a few participants from afar - South Africa, Bangladesh and (hopefully) Brazil.

Among the main issues to be discussed at the convention are: the public distribution system; children's right to food; the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; the Right to Information Act; land rights; gender aspects of the right to food; legal action for the right to food; organisational aspects of the right to food campaign. This will be an action-oriented event, structured around a series of parallel workshops, plenary sessions, cultural activities, and more.

For further information, including the tentative programme and details of the venue, please check the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org ) or contact the secretariat of the right to food campaign (righttofood@gmail.com, tel 011-23510042 or 09350530150).

2. "EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT" - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was passed by the Indian Parliament on 23 August 2005. Under this Act, any adult who is willing to do unskilled manual labour is entitled to being employed on public works within 15 days, subject to an initial limit of "100 days per household per year". If work is not provided, an unemployment allowance has to be paid.

Work on the "Rules" of the NREGA has been initiated by the Ministry of Rural Development. A new section on this has just been added (under "Employment Guarantee Act") on the campaign website ( http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/egarules.html). This section includes draft guidelines prepared by the Ministry for a consultation held on 15 September, various responses and comments, and related documents. The draft Rules will also be posted there as soon as they are available. If you have any comments or suggestions on the Rules, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com

Under the Act, each state government is supposed to put in place an "Employment Guarantee Scheme" (EGS) within six months, to give effect to the employment guarantee. Some state governments have started framing an EGS or holding consultations on this issue. We shall try to monitor this process as it unfolds, but local organisations are best placed to find out what is happening in their own state.

3. NEW PRIMER ON THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

A "Primer" on employment guarantee was prepared last year, to facilitate public discussion of this issue. The Primer is written in an accessible style, using a simple question-answer format, and costs only a few rupees per copy. It is highly suitable for training workshops and related activities.

A new version of the EGA Primer is being prepared, based on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA). The draft of this new Primer is available at www.righttofoodindia.org (on the Home Page - see box called "Primers on the Right to Food"). Feel free to adapt the draft for your own purposes and to translate it in local languages. Comments on the draft are welcome, please send them to rozgar@gmail.com.

4. DRAFT PRIMERS ON MID-DAY MEALS AND ICDS

Primers are also being prepared on "mid-day meals" and ICDS. The Primer on mid-day meals explains in simple words why mid-day meals in primary schools are important and what grassroots organisations can do to ensure that all children get a nutritious meal at school. The Primer on ICDS makes a case for "universalization with quality", presents the Supreme Court orders on ICDS, and discusses various possibilities of action.

Drafts of these Primers are also available in the box "Primers on the Right to Food", on the Home Page of the campaign website ( www.righttofoodindia.org). They are due to be finalised in advance of the Kolkata convention in November. If you have any comments on the draft Primers, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com

5. NEW STUDIES ON MID-DAY MEALS

A new study of mid-day meals in Madhya Pradesh has just been completed by Samaj Pragati Sahyog. The study covers 70 schools spread over 7 districts. On the positive side, the study found that mid-day meals are in place in all the villages and that they have had dramatic effects on school attendance: pupil enrolment in Class 1 rose by 35 per cent within one year, after mid-day meals were introduced. A vast majority of parents and teachers want the mid-day meal scheme to continue. On a less cheerful note, the infrastructure (cooking sheds, utensils, etc.) is highly inadequate and the quality of mid-day meals leaves much to be desired. Also, because the management of mid-day meals has been handed over to "parent-teacher associations" (PTAs), which are often inactive, teachers end up spending a lot of time organising the meals. For the full report please write to Samaj Pragati Sahyog (samprag@sify.com)

Two other insightful studies of mid-day meals have recently been completed, one by Farzana Afridi on mid-day meals in Madhya Pradesh, and one by Julia Blue on mid-day meals in Udaipur (Rajasthan). For further details, see the "mid-day meals" section of the campaign website ( www.righttofoodindia.org).

6. MASSIVE "JAMIN ADHIKAR" RALLY IN SURAT, 20th SEPTEMBER

Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation working for the democratic rights of Adivasis and Dalits, recently conducted a series of grassroots meetings in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. This culminated in a huge rally at the District headquarters on 16 August, 2005. Two rallies were also held in Surat and Rajpipla, in the Narmada district of Gujarat. Surat witnessed perhaps the largest mobilization of tribal and working people on issues relating to their livelihood: 15,000 Adivasis, Dalits and landless people converged at Ambedkar Statue, Surat. Prominent trade union leaders and comrades addressed the gathering. The resolution passed at the rally demanded a halt to the transfer of natural resources and public sector companies to multinational companies; it took note of the Gujarat government's move to lease more than 47 lakh hectares of land to corporate houses at a pittance for 20 years; it demanded a common school system; it condemned the displacement of tribal people in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh; it demanded the ownership rights of tribal groups to lands they have cultivated over generations. The rally also demanded that the draft Tribal Bill 2005 be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament, after necessary modification. For further info please write to Pratibha Shinde at loksamanway@yahoo.co.uk

7. RECENT REPORTS ON HUNGER DEATHS

There has been a series of recent reports on hunger deaths in various places, including Nandurbar (Maharashtra), Sonebhadra (UP), Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh), and Baran (Rajasthan). The full reports are available on the campaign website ( http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/field_reports.html). Short summaries follow below:

• In Nandurbar, a report entitled "Maranatach He Jag Jagate" was recently prepared by Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti (PSS). This report is based on information obtained under the Right to Information Act, and a survey conducted by PSS in 22 villages of the Akalkuwa Block of Nandurbar District. A huge discrepancy was found between the situation on the ground, revealed by the PSS survey, and the government records: of the 1148 children surveyed by PSS in June, 104 were found to be malnourished, but the government records show only 17 cases of malnourishment. As many as 75 per cent of the women surveyed were seriously underweight. The report highlights the cycle of undernutrition, which gets transmitted from weak mothers to undernourished children. The 23 September issue of Frontline also carried a cover story on this issue.
• There have also been reports of hunger deaths in Sonebhadra (U.P.). One of the victims is Chirauji Devi, a woman who was looking after a sick husband, a handicapped son, his wife and four grandchildren. She worked under the Food For Work programme but her wages were not paid. Prior to her death, nothing had been cooked in the house for fourteen days. This and other cases of starvation deaths in U.P. were to be heard at a session of "Indian People's Tribunal" (IPT) to be held in Varanasi on 30 September 2005. Details are awaited, meanwhile please contact pvchr@yahoo.com for further information.
• A recent report by Uma Chakravarti presents a grim account of the predicament of 160 Sahariya families in Majhera village, Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh). Adult men in Majhera work in hazardous stone quarries and there is a high prevalence of tuberculosis in the village. Recently the quarries were shut, on the grounds that they destroy the environment. This forced the Sahariyas to resort to the forest for survival. Deaths were reported from eating poisonous herbs and leaves. The village has a large number of widows, who are forced to resort to the liquor trade for a living. No widow pensions or maternity benefits were available to these women. The fair price shop has been distributing rice to the Antyodaya Anna Yojana cardholders at twice the stipulated price (Rs. 6 per kg).
• A six-member team from the Institute of Development Studies Jaipur (IDSJ) and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) recently visited Baran district to investigate deaths reported in the local press as due to hunger, undernutrition and illness. In the month of August, 48 deaths were reported from 40 villages. Half of the victims were children. The team visited six villages and investigated various causes of these deaths: chronic undernutrition, inadequate vaccination, absence of emergency health care, poor hygiene, among others. The team also found some signs of positive change since last year. For instance, the PDS is functional, and employment programmes have protected many families from hunger. However, chronic energy deficiency and lack of a balanced diet remain widespread.

8. WORKSHOP ON COURT ORDERS (NAGPUR, 16-18 SEPTEMBER)

A workshop was convened in Nagpur on 16-18 September at Nagpur by the Right to Food Campaign, Maharashtra. The programme included presentations on food security, the public distribution system, ICDS, mid-day meals, pension and maternity benefits, the state of primary health centres, and the Employment Guarantee Act. The aim was to work out a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of various Supreme Court orders. For further info please contact priyankajosson@yahoo.com

9. NEW STUDY ON CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN FOOD PROGRAMMES

The latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly includes an article by Sukheo Thorat and Joel Lee on caste discrimination in food security programmes. The abstract of the paper reads: "The findings of a survey in select states conducted in 2003 expose the patterns of exclusion and caste discrimination that afflict the government's mid-day meal scheme and public distribution system. This article investigates dalit participation in these programmes and also measures aspects of physical access, participatory empowerment and community-level access." The full article is available on the website of Economic and Political Weekly.

10. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT COMES INTO FORCE

The Right to Information Act came into force on 13 October 2005. The Government was supposed to appoint State Commissioners for RTI by 23 September 2005, and to name Public Information Officers for each department by 13 October 2005. However, this had not happened until 8 October. In response to this, Shankar Singh of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has issued an appeal to observe the week from 13-20 October as "Suchna ka adhikar arji saptaah" (RTI Applications Week), urging people to file applications for RTI in large numbers in their areas. He says, "our struggle will continue until such time that ordinary citizens use RTI to ensure an accountable and transparent government".

A "Right to Information Primer" (prepared by the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information) is available at (http://www.righttoinformation.info/rti_primer04.doc). For those based in Delhi, information on how to apply is available online at http://www.snsindia.org/rti.htm. For further information, please write to mkssrajasthan@gmail.com.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel 011-2351 0042, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the Right to Food Campaign. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org ) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]