Imbalanced food distribution is creating multiple problems
Disparities in the food distribution system and providing food at subsidized rates, is affecting the men and women of our country by creating malnutrition, forced migration and imbalance in society.
FOOD SCARCITY is a serious problem in India, especially for the rural majority. It also has serious impact on the status of women. There are disparities in the Food Distribution System (FDS), despite the fact that food stocks worth more than Rs. 6 crore are lying waste. Hence the economic status of women is declining. It is estimated that more than 35 per cent of homes in rural India are headed by women. The number goes on increasing with time. A woman faces tough decisions with no work in the village and hence no income.
Yet, she has to feed her children and other family members; she has no other choice. Women have started moving in groups to nearby towns to do any kind of work for short periods of time.
It could be manual labour, domestic work or simply hawing goods on streets. Hundreds of women look after cattle for periods ranging from three to four years. In return for this labour, they receive one-third of the price of the animal and fodder stocks to be used for fuel. With no large-scale employment schemes, the women have no choice. There is a huge increase in trafficking of women and children around the country. Violence against women has also increased.
This is well demonstrated in some TV serials such as “Balika Vadhu” and “Na Aana Is Desh Laado”. Also, we have entered a period of perennial drought. Some states have had no rainfall for the last many years. So it is not surprising that most rural households cannot afford to buy basic necessities to survive.
There is another important point. Where is the government subsidy on food being spent? More than 60 per cent of the subsidy is spent on storage and carriage costs. The Antyodaya scheme needs to be extended for all the poor people.
The government policy on food distribution has a basis in the World Bank prescription that food should not be distributed by the government but left to the market forces. But even if this is done, it is impossible to take care of the huge buffer stocks of wheat and rice. Thousands of tones are being kept out in the open, covered only by a tarpaulin. Our scheme of universal distribution of Rs. 2 per kilo will cost the government Rs. 30, 000 crore per annum.
But the present subsidy is already costing the state Rs. 25,000 crore out of which 60 per cent is spent on storage and carrying costs. There is another way out to help the poor: the rich should not be subsidized. Poor people do not have enough to eat, they do not have shelter to live, and they are prone to many ailments. As a result of this malnutrition, anaemia and TB are rising in villages all over. In fact, BIMARU states are worse off.
The government should look at these problems that the poor face, and find out ways to ameliorate the proletariat.
It could be manual labour, domestic work or simply hawing goods on streets. Hundreds of women look after cattle for periods ranging from three to four years. In return for this labour, they receive one-third of the price of the animal and fodder stocks to be used for fuel. With no large-scale employment schemes, the women have no choice. There is a huge increase in trafficking of women and children around the country. Violence against women has also increased.
This is well demonstrated in some TV serials such as “Balika Vadhu” and “Na Aana Is Desh Laado”. Also, we have entered a period of perennial drought. Some states have had no rainfall for the last many years. So it is not surprising that most rural households cannot afford to buy basic necessities to survive.
There is another important point. Where is the government subsidy on food being spent? More than 60 per cent of the subsidy is spent on storage and carriage costs. The Antyodaya scheme needs to be extended for all the poor people.
The government policy on food distribution has a basis in the World Bank prescription that food should not be distributed by the government but left to the market forces. But even if this is done, it is impossible to take care of the huge buffer stocks of wheat and rice. Thousands of tones are being kept out in the open, covered only by a tarpaulin. Our scheme of universal distribution of Rs. 2 per kilo will cost the government Rs. 30, 000 crore per annum.
But the present subsidy is already costing the state Rs. 25,000 crore out of which 60 per cent is spent on storage and carrying costs. There is another way out to help the poor: the rich should not be subsidized. Poor people do not have enough to eat, they do not have shelter to live, and they are prone to many ailments. As a result of this malnutrition, anaemia and TB are rising in villages all over. In fact, BIMARU states are worse off.
The government should look at these problems that the poor face, and find out ways to ameliorate the proletariat.
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