Right to Food Act very essential, says EFICOR

The Indian government recently announced the passing of Right to Food Act, which it said would promote inclusive growth. A Christian relief and development organisation has hailed the decision and has called for its immediate implementation.

"It is a very welcoming move which will empower the poor and undernourished in India," says EFICOR which is involved in relief, rehabilitation and development activities across the country.

Home Minister P Chidambaram last week said the Right to Food Act is on the anvil and it will be the next important legislation after the Right to Education Act that took effect beginning April.

Concurring with the view that it will be a landmark legislation, M Ramesh Babu, Manager Programmes of EFICOR, said, "Right to Food Act will empower NGOs like EFICOR to effectively serve the victims of food insecurity and malnutrition."

"The passing of this Act will help us to closely associate with the government on the foundation of this law which will help channelise various PDF (public distribution system) schemes to communities in a very systematic and accountable manner," Babu told Christian Today.

The Right to Food Act proposes to provide 25 kilograms of rice or wheat per month at the rate of Rs. three per kg to families living below the poverty line.

Using the old survey and Tendulkar's definition of poverty line, the number of BPL households will increase to about 8 crore compared to the present estimate of 6.52 crore. It will however still be lower than the 10.8 crore estimated by states.

Subsidised food grains below the 35 kg prescribed, says Babu, are being implemented but not to its full. There are many families in poor regions of Bihar and Chattisgarh where the public distribution system is ineffective.

However, once right to food becomes law, then they will necessarily have to give the mandated quantity to the fixed number of BPL families, he adds.

EFICOR has a strong presence in the poorest districts of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orrisa, Rajastahan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal.

In Bihar and Chattisgarh, EFICOR has the Right to Food Programme for the most disadvantaged and needy. "Many don't have BPL cards, neither homes nor lands and live out of revenue villages...we are forming them into various groups like Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and educate them on government schemes and entitlement," explains Babu.

"Additionally, we also take these people to government offices where organisations and the district administration have interface meetings."

Uttar Pradesh stands first in having the highest number of families living below the poverty line (BPL) in the country. Over 60% of these BPL families belong to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes.