As a policy the Food Security Bill is a good development as it establishes the right to food and gives hope to the hungry. But the efficacy and intent of this policy will be in the implementation. It envisages supplying five kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals at Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1 per kg, respectively, to 67 per cent of the population below the poverty line.
There is scant faith in this government’s ability to carry out such a massive task efficiently, honestly, with the commitment needed, and at a low cost, considering the logistics involved. One estimate puts the amount of food grain involved at 65 million tonnes annually.
The present scenario, where over 40 per cent of the population goes to sleep hungry while the country’s granaries and warehouses are overflowing with food grain, illustrates the pure mismanagement and callous handling of the food sector by the governments at the Centre and the states. Even the public distribution system is in a mess as grain meant for the PDS finds its way into the open market.
Of more importance than all the peripheral issues being raised by those opposing the bill is how the government is going to implement and monitor the distribution of the food grain, and how it will ensure that it goes to the targeted population. The states have been left to decide who should get it. Considering how most of the states mismanaged the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, one wonders about the future of this programme.