 "Rajasthan's rocky food law launch")
Gopal is the panchayat secretary of this village. He sits alone in a room, without a fan or light. There is no staff to help. A few months earlier, a computer arrived under the central government's Bharat Nirman scheme but has since been shifted to the sarpanch's house. Anyway, there is no electricity - wires never reached and solar panels were stolen soon after the government installed these.
Surrounded in darkness, he says: "There is only this much I can do. Last night, I could not sleep after 2. I was so worried, as only one per cent of the desired work (on food security) has been completed." Then, drawing a black bag from underneath his desk, he complains: "There is no sense of responsibility…These 1,800 ration cards have just arrived and some have either wrong picture or wrong address."
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On October 2, with the legislative Assembly elections in sight, the Rajasthan government became the third one - after Delhi and Uttarakhand - to formally roll out the Food Security Act. According to the provisions, the state government will provide a uniform allocation of five kg each to around five million new beneficiaries at Rs 3, Rs 2 and Re 1 for a kg each of rice, wheat and coarse grains, respectively. In addition, around a million from the poorest of the poor will be provided 35 kg of grain under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana and another three million under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category will get 25 kg of foodgrain.
On the ground
A few metres from Gopal's office, a 50-something Babu Khan is walking back from a closed neighbourhood Public Distribution System (PDS) shop. The shop was to open after four weeks. As he turned towards his home, he asks: "How can I run my family if the ration shop is to be closed for days together?"
Khan says he was trained under shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan. "I have played with him at many places, including Nepal, Calcutta and Madras (now Chennai)." These days, Khan said, he earned around Rs 5,000 a month by playing at weddings and parties in Jaipur, 50 km away. "It's fair to ask why I should get subsidised food but I cannot survive otherwise."
Later, the ration shop owner arrived and soon a crowd gathered. "I am helpless; supplies come on any day of the month. Between March and August, sugar did not come. This month, it came together for two months," says Sandeep Jain, owner of the shop, as he shows his latest possession, a Maruti Suzuki Dzire car. "I also read about the Food Security Act in the newspaper. The government has told us nothing about how to implement it."
Like Khan, most people here and in the surrounding villages said they were eagerly awaiting the FSA roll-out. Villagers cited rising prices of food, poor agricultural incomes and a rise in daily expenses to justify their demand. However, most were unsure of its provisions and their eligibility. As a result, activists claim, many beneficiaries have been left out, while those ineligible have been included.
Kavita Srivastava, associated with the Right to Food campaign, says she had many letters from ordinary people who had been unjustly left out. "The whole method of selection has been official, without people participation. Many of those who should have been included have been left out."
It isn't hard to find fake beneficiaries. At a village tea shop, sharing tea with locals, Rajendra Jain, who runs a small business in the village, proudly boasts he is one such case. "I have three four-wheel vehicles. But I have got my family registered to become beneficiaries of the scheme, as none of these vehicles are registered in my name." According to the Rajasthan government, people owning four-wheel vehicles are excluded from the benefits.
In Jaipur, the state capital, bureaucrats shrugs aside questions on implementation. Instead, a senior bureaucrat tasked with implementing the scheme, asks: "Ever been in a plane that is at the take-off stage? There is turbulence as the flight leaves the runway. After that, all is smooth." He adds: "We are in the take-off stage."
FEEDING RECIPE
Rajasthan became the third place to roll out the Food Security Act, on October 2
5 million new beneficiaries to get 5 kg grain per person every month. These are to be distributed at:
Rs 3 for a kg each of rice
Rs 2 for a kg each of wheat
Re 1 for a kg of coarse grain
3 million in BPL category to continue to get 25 kg of foodgrain per month
1 million under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana to continue to get 35 kg of foodgrain per month