New Delhi:
The Food Security Bill is something that the UPA government has been hoping would be its flagship scheme in its second tenure, but a day after the National Advisory Council (NAC) watered down its recommendations on the bill, differences within the Council and with the government came out in the open.
Jean Dreze, a member of the NAC, and the face of the Right to Food campaign has accused the government of putting pressure on the NAC to keep its food subsidy bill in check.
The result, says Dreze, is a missed opportunity for a visionary change.
"We have to have very broad coverage of the PDS system because if we try to restrict it to poor people it will not work. The NAC began with the acknowledgment of that fact and there was a strong majority sentiment that we should get away from all that but gradually it has been diluted, and we are dangerously close to something that is not very different from the status quo," he said.
If the NAC's recommendations are followed, 75 per cent Indians, that's nearly 800 million people, will have access to subsidised food.
Although some in the NAC said food security must be extended to all in the country and not just those deemed poor. But this, the government said would double its food subsidy bill. So, a compromise was worked out, and it was decided that 75 per cent households would be covered. This will now take the food subsidy bill to almost Rs 80,000 crore.
With many activists, as well as an NAC member saying that this plan does not do justice to what was envisioned, the draft bill may see some changes.
Jean Dreze, a member of the NAC, and the face of the Right to Food campaign has accused the government of putting pressure on the NAC to keep its food subsidy bill in check.
The result, says Dreze, is a missed opportunity for a visionary change.
"We have to have very broad coverage of the PDS system because if we try to restrict it to poor people it will not work. The NAC began with the acknowledgment of that fact and there was a strong majority sentiment that we should get away from all that but gradually it has been diluted, and we are dangerously close to something that is not very different from the status quo," he said.
If the NAC's recommendations are followed, 75 per cent Indians, that's nearly 800 million people, will have access to subsidised food.
Although some in the NAC said food security must be extended to all in the country and not just those deemed poor. But this, the government said would double its food subsidy bill. So, a compromise was worked out, and it was decided that 75 per cent households would be covered. This will now take the food subsidy bill to almost Rs 80,000 crore.
With many activists, as well as an NAC member saying that this plan does not do justice to what was envisioned, the draft bill may see some changes.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
