CAMPAIGN UPDATES: UPDATE 44

15 July 2006

We are resuming the Right to Food Update which covers news from the ‘field’ about various activities surrounding the NREGA, PDS, ICDS and other food schemes. The present update carries information about the consultations taking place for the 11 th Plan, updates on the recent Supreme Court hearings regarding PDS and Supplementary Nutrition Scheme, from the Commissioner’s Office and the Forest Right’s Bill. If you have any information that can be included in the updates (on these and children’s issues) please write to us at righttofood@gmail.com .

• RTFC Secretariat
• Hyderabad Convention Report
• Supreme Court Update
• Commissioners Update
• Public Distribution System
• 11 th Plan (Planning Commission)
• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
• Violence against JADS in Barwani
• Forest Rights Bill
• Website update
• Recent writings of interest

1. RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT:

The campaign has been doing quite well recently, with a whole range of activities related to children’s right to food, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the public distribution system, and related issues. An attempt is also being made to strengthen the secretariat of the campaign. The secretariat has recently moved to new premises (see address below), and two full-time workers, Gurminder Singh and Spurthi Reddy have joined, in addition to Navjyoti J. We are hoping to play a more active role in facilitating various activities of the campaign.

Address: RTFC Secretariat, Q-21-B Top Floor, Jangpura Extension, New Delhi 110014.

Ph. No: 011- 43501335

2. HYDERABAD CONVENTION REPORT

A Convention on Children’s Right to Food was held in Hyderabad on 7-9 April 2006.  The main purpose of this convention was to bring together individuals and organizations with a special commitment to children’s right to food, to share experiences and plan future action.  About 400 participants from 15 different states, who are working on this issue in various ways, took part in the Convention. 

One of the main themes of the Convention was the role of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in protecting the rights of children under the age of six, including their right to food, nutrition, health and pre-school education.

For the full report please visit:http://www.righttofoodindia.org/icds/icds_convention.html

3. SUPREME COURT UPDATE

9 th June Hearing: On June 9 th 2006 the Supreme Court cleared the decks for the implementation of the supplementary nutrition scheme by training the self helf groups (SHGs) with an aim to take over the anganwadis from the NGOs in the national capital.

Pursuant to the apex court order that no contractors would be used for the supply of nutrition in anganwadis, Delhi government framed a detailed scheme for capacity building of SHGs to prepare and supply supplementary nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) programme. The scheme envisaged that within 27 months the SHGs would be trained and would completely take over the running of the anganwadis from the NGO. According to the scheme, pregnant and lactating mothers were to be trained and involved in the programme to bring their children to the anganwadis.

The scheme was held up for two months as three of the registered non profit organisations, which had applied for training the SHGs, had taken legal recourse after their application was rejected by the Delhi government. Delhi government by an affidavit had alleged that the three NPOs had approached the court with malafide intention as they were catering contractors having commercial interests and were trying to take up the project in the garb of NGO.

12 th July Hearing:This hearing mainly concerned the Public Distribution System. The Court said these directions are being passed in the light of the fact that there is large scale corruption in the PDS and no remedial steps are being taken. The Supreme Court has ordered the constitution of a central vigilance committee to be chaired by a retired Supreme Court Judge, who will be assisted by Dr. N.C. Saxena (Commissioner of Supreme Court appointed in the writ petition filed by PUCL vs. Union of India 196/2001). The work of the Committee is to be financed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India.

The Committee has been asked to, within four months, file a report on:

1. The mode of appointment of PDS dealers

2. The commission that should be payable to PDS dealers

3. The functioning of vigilance committees on a regular basis (I.e. civil society vigilance

committees)

4. Transparency in allotment of food stock to be sold at PDS shops.

The recommendations of the Committee are to apply initially to Delhi and then to the rest of the country. The remedies recommended by the committee will be available in addition to legal remedies already available.The Committee has been asked to seek the opinions of civil society groups.

4. COMMISSIONER’S UPDATE (CONTRIBUTED BY BIRAJ

PATNAIK- COMMISSIONERS SECRETARIAT) :

The Office of the Commissioners assisted the legal team and the
Government of Delhi in a matter pertaining to the removal of
contractors from the ICDS for SNP provision in the Delhi High Court
and subsequently in the Supreme Court.

The Office of the Commissioners also interfaced with officials and
activists in Maharashtra on the PDS reforms being undertaken there.

The Office has been following up with all State Governments on the
implementation of the Sixth Report by visits to the States as well as
regularly raising the issues through correspondence with State /
Central Governments. The Commissioners have also intervened in the
Supreme Court on the non-implementation of the SC order on
universalization of the ICDS which is expected to come up during the
next hearing.

The Office of the Commissioners is analyzing all the field reports
that have been received on the implementation of the NREGS from across
the country and raising these issues with the MoRD. A analytic
compilation of the guidelines of all the States is also underway.

Active interventions have been made by State Advisers including
commissioning of a Joint Commission of Enquiry (JCE) in MP, a public
hearing on the NREGS in Orissa, BPL review in Rajasthan and West
Bengal and a field investigation on the exclusion of Muslims from the
NREGS in Gujarat.

A number of new State Advisers have also been appointed by the
Commissioners including, Dr. Indira Hirwey (Gujarat), Dr.Ginny
Srivastava (Rajasthan), Dr. Rama Melkotte (Andhra Pradesh),  Tarun
Bharatiya (Meghalaya) and Samir Garg (Chhattisgarh). Dr. Veena
Shatrugna (Deputy  Director of the National Institute for Nutrition)
has consented to be the National Adviser (Nutrition) to the
Commissioners.

5. PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Pro-active steps in Barabanki:

Under the banner of Rozi Roti Samiti and Aim, Lucknow some organizations filed a complaint against PDS dealer of Dadera village, (Nindura block), Barabanki district, U.P. with the support of villagers. After investigation by the investigative officer the dealership was cancelled. Upon receiving a complaint the Chief Development Officer, Barabanki ordered for allotment of PDS shops through open Gram Sabha Meetings. However vested interests in the village disrupted the meeting by stone-pelting and firing in the air. All this was done to threaten the dalit groups of the village.

After this incident the community groups with Rozi Roti Samiti mebers met the District Magistrate who assured them that he will immediately resolve the issue and continue the allotment of PDS shops through Gram Sabha meetings.

PDS Capacity building workshop:

A capacity building workshop is being planned for August 2006. This is in continuation of the discussion started in the Hyderabad Convention, April 7-9 2006. This workshop will invite 2-3 persons from each state who will be trained in investigation and monitoring measures of PDS shops and transactions, through a questionnaire. The participants are then required to conduct similar exercises in their respective states and disseminate the training. A PDS Primer is also in preparation for this workshop.

6. 11 th PLAN

In the context of preparing the 11 th Plan the Planning Commission has formed a "Working Group on Food and Nutrition Security". Kavita Srivastava, Vandana Prasad and Jean Dreze are members of this Group. The Working Group is expected to submit its report by end September. The Hyderabad Statement with a short covering letter were circulated, which helped put the spotlight on "universalization with quality". 

For the full concluding statement of the Hyderabad Convention please visit: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/hyd06concludingstmt.doc

Another group called “Steering Committee on Nutrition” (chaired by Sayeed Hameed) has also been formulated. They have released a “background note” which can be accessed at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/11plan/conceptnote.doc .

7. NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

The last few months have witnessed heightened activity around the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Organizations across the country have conducted dharnas, padyatras, and audits to assess the effectiveness of the implementation and practices of corruption. The general picture which emerges from their reports is far from satisfactory. The implementation of the scheme is riddled with common problems. The most worrisome of which is that in many states NREGA works have not been started at all with the existing works under the National Food for Work Programme being converted to NREGA works. Some state governments have also issued circulars stating that no work will be provided in the months of monsoon and harvesting. Other recurrent problems include non-issuing of job cards, non-payment of unemployment allowance, delayed and incomplete wage payments, false entries in muster rolls etc.

However these endeavours have had many a positive effect, the most important of which is spreading awareness. Apart from encouraging the villagers to demand accountability, it spurred the district administration in many places to start registration, issue job cards etc.

For detailed news on NREGA please refer to the Rozgar Updates available on the website. http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/rozgarupdates.html

8.VIOLENCE AGAINST JAGRIT ADIVASI DALIT SANGHATAN,

BARWANI (MADHYA PRADESH):

The Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS) has been very active in the campaign for the law, and has, since its passage, been systematically spreading awareness regarding its provisions and mobilizing adivasis for its successful implementation. Recently at a meeting called by the Badwani Collector on 16 th June 2006 (on the insistence of about 2000 adivasis who had gathered for a prior ‘jan sunwai’ that the Collector failed to attend, despite committment), the gathered assembly were stopped from entering the Block office by a local political leader, a few sarpanchs and secretaries. The said political leader, Sildar Patel, assaulted Madhuri Krishnaswami ( member, coordination committee JADS) and a few more. The SDM and SDOP who, along with a police force were present at the spot did not intervene. The Collector and SP too did nothing till half an hour after their arrival, during which Madhuri was repeatedly assaulted.

When the “jan sunwai” was begun, the assailants were also present and every time a JADS member raised an issue regarding implementation of NREGA they were shouted down, with the active encouragement of the Collector.

To read the full text of the letter written by JADS to Dr. N. C. Saxena visit: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/ega_news.html.)

9. FOREST RIGHTS BILL (CONTRIBUTED BY SHANKAR

GOPALKRISHNAN –CAMPAIGN FOR SURVIVAL AND DIGNITY)

India's forests today have tens of millions of inhabitants, many of whom
have been there for centuries but most of whose rights were not recorded
during the arbitrary process of declaring ‘government forests’ (thereby
overnight converting them into "encroachers").  These forest dwellers
are subject to periodic evictions, harassment, extortion and brutality;
thus it's no accident that tribals are among the most marginalised sections of
our society.  

The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill,
a measure to address this injustice by giving legal recognition to the
rights of forest dwellers, was introduced in Parliament last year
after year-long mass protests and a "controversy", the latter being
generated through misinformation from the Ministry of Environment and
Forests.   The Bill was then sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee,
which gave an excellent report that recommended correcting most of the
serious flaws in the original Bill and inculded most of the demands of
people's organisations.  The government  has yet to respond to the JPC
report and is expected to do so in the monsoon session of Parliament.
The struggle to get the recommendations accepted and to have a just and
effective forest rights Bill passed continues.

10. WEBSITE UPDATE:

Much work is taking place on the website with new additions. The new material includes:

a) A background note by the Steering Committee on Nutrition for the Eleventh Five-

Year Plan, http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/11plan/conceptnote.doc

b) A report on the mass social audit conducted in Dungarpur, and the Hyderabad

Convention Report (www.righttofoodindia.org ).

c) A document detailing the tools and guidelines for verification of muster rolls is also

available (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/ega_keydocs.html ).

d) A comparitive chart of state EGA schemes.

(http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/2006jun_state_ega_comparision.xls )

e) The latest Rozgar update and Right to Food Updates are regularly made available on

the website. Moreover the latest news stories are also available in the “News Stories”

section.

11. RECENT WRITINGS OF INTEREST:

“Employment guarantee and migration” by Reetika Khera [The Hindu 13/7/2006] http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/13/stories/2006071303360900.htm

“DM orders frequent raids on fair price shops” [Lucknow Newsline 13/7/2006]

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=192534

“ SC Directs For PDS Monitoring Committee to Check Corruption” [12/7/2006]

http://www.indlawnews.com/141DBBD38D7F6D84B2121A63F29060A1

“ Anganwadi workers seek better honorarium” [Pune Newsline 10/7/2006]

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=192271

“Malnutrition is a serious problem in Mumbai, admits government” [The Financial Express, Mumbai 10/7/2006]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=133368

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the 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.]

Last updated: 15 july 2006