Update Archive

UPDATE 48

13 October 2006

1. Anganwadi Divas Update

2. Annual Convention of the Right to Food Campaign.

3. Rozgar Adhikar Yatra, Madhya Pradesh

4. Ekta Parishad Update

5. EGA is Proving to be Otherwise for Tribals , Betul distt.,

6. Maharashtra Right to Food Cases

7. People's Tribunal on Right to Food, Varanasi Uttar Pradesh

8. Special Announcements

Anganwadi Divas Update

The idea to celebrate Anganwadi Divas / Bal Adhikar Yatra germinated in the Hyderabad Convention (April 2006) and has evolved in the following months. Preparations to organize such an activity are underway by different organizations and networks in many states such as Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala and Assam. These activities will be concentrated from November 14th to November 21st 2006.

Planned activities include surveys and fact-findings of ICDS (anganwadi) centres, public meeting to explain provisions of ICDS, cultural programmes at anganwadis, special meals for children on that day, district level meetings with district collector, CDPOs, health officer and other officials. Apart from activities spread over the week, in some places special activiries are being planned for 21st November 2006 (child rights day).

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Annual Convention of the Right to Food Campaign.

The first preparatory meeting for the Annual Convention was held on 7th October 2006 in Delhi. The dates for the convention have been decided as 6th - 8th April 2007. The tentative venue is Gaya (Bihar). Some broad themes for inclusion in the convention were also discussed, such as Poverty Estimation, social exclusion, tribal and dalit rights, land and livelihood issues, globalization, urban poor etc. The Convention will also be an opportunity for sharing from different regions and a review of past achievements among others.

The themes stated above are not final and your suggestions are sought. More details on the same will follow in the future updates. The minutes will be placed on the website shortly. www.righttofoodindia.org

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Rozgar Adhikar Yatra, Madhya Pradesh

Conceived and initiated by the National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), and supported by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, Samarthan, Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) and several other national and regional networks, a Rozgar Adhikar Yatra has been launched from three places in Madhya Pradesh: Rewa, Tikamgarh and Balaghat. This Rozgar Adhikar Yatra will travel through all the 18 districts notified under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Madhya Pradesh and will culminate into a Rozgar Adhikar Rally in Bhopal on 31st October. A state level tribunal is also planned in Bhopal on 1 November.

This Rozgar Adhikar Yatra aims at generating public consciousness on the rights of poor under the NREGA and to sensitise state machinery to implement this scheme in its sprit and intentions with utmost seriousness. The Rozgar Adhikar Yatra is also undertaking social audit of implementation of NREGA in MP and would prepare a Charter of Demands, which would be submitted to the state and the central governments for immediate action. Public hearings and social audit exercises will also be undertaken in course of Yatras.

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Ekta Parishad Update (contributed by Rajgopal P.V., Ekta Parishad)

a) This report is from Kawardha district, Chhattisgarh. The forest department has destroyed crops of 600 tribal families living in 8 villages of Kawardha district. This is an ongoing battle between forest department and tribals of India. Here the tribals will cultivate land during the Monsoon and the forest department would destroy everything. This happens among a particular primitive tribal community, called the Baigas.

b) Apart from this an investigation team has been constituted by Government of India, Ministry of Panchayati Raj to look into the various violations prevailing in the tribal areas (Mr. Rajgopal P.V., President Ekta Parishad is also part of this team). He reports that across the country one can see a total violation of economic and human rights of the tribal communities by the industrial houses and mining companies. For instance in village Barpali, situated about 25 K.M. away from Rourkela, there are two iron factories on both sides of the village resulting in high levels of pollution. Thus many residents are migrating and others are getting sick in such villages. Another disheartening news is that recently 12 Adivasis (tribals) were shot dead in Orissa; their crime was that they did not agree to give their land to industrial houses in order to build a steel factory.

Nonetheless there is some good news. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has recommended that the claims of Adivasis on forest land should be settled. There is a lot of opposition to this recommendation and we are hoping that the Parliament will pass an Act to settle these long standing claims. The second good news is that the Sub-committee on Land Reforms, set up by the Planning Commission of India has formulated some very good recommendations on the land reform agenda.

Ekta Parishad and National Campaign Committee on Land (NCCL) are working together on these issues. During Chetawni yatra in October 2006, we are planning to popularize the Planning Commission Report and create public opinion around these issues.

c) In Bihar too the new Government setup a Land Commission to look at the land reform agenda. Ekta Parishad organized a state level consultation to create a common platform in order to generate pressure on government and also on the Land Commission. In Bihar, a Ghero Dalo Dhera Dalo (Indefinite Sit-in Programme) is to be organized in Patna from September 24 onwards. About ten thousand landless people and activists will protest for three days and will demand resolutions of the land and livelihoods problems. They will also demand for progressive land reforms policies in the state. Tamil Nadu government has also announced two acres of land to the landless. In this context, Ekta Parishad has recently organized a Padyatra and a National Convention on Land and Livelihood Rights to create a climate as a support to this program. Across the country, especially in states where is Ekta Parishad is active for many years, many programs are taking place like Cycle Yatra, Foot march, Rallies, Sit-in and protest. Presently everything is focused on Chetawni Yatra and Janadesh 2007.

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EGA is Proving to be Otherwise for Tribals, Betul district (contributed by Anurag Mody, Samajwadi Jan Parishad & Shramik Adivasi Sanghatan)

The much publicized National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is proving otherwise for tribals of Betul District in M P as tribals are losing their resources of survival in lieu of employment. Thousands of tribals are losing their land and pasture to the scheme as the M P government has found a good opportunity and money at their disposal to evict so called tribal encroachers from government land.

The Chief Minister of M P Shivrajsingh Chouhan has announced plantation of crores of saplings under the Hariyali Mahotsav. To implement the program the M P government has issued instructions to each Panchayat through district administration to plant trees on government land. This is being done under the NREGA scheme. In Betul district alone this year 1460000 saplings are to be planted over 4669.55 hectors of government land. All most all the land selected under the scheme is occupied by tribals either for cultivation or as a pasture. In village Tadhar of Chicholi block of Betul district alone, tribals have lost 58.88 hectors of land. Pits are being dug up in standing crops. Surendra singh s/o Bhaiyalal said the land is being occupied by his family for four generations. Even in 1998 they were issued pattas for the land. He said they were neither issued any notices nor consulted before work started and they don't have any other land to survive.

The Shramik Adivasi Sanghathan (SAS), an organization of tribals, and Samajwadi Jan Parishad had a demonstration at Chicholi Block office on 12th September and Shahpur on 13th September to oppose the move. According to SAS the government plan's to evict the tribals from government land, disguised as plantation before it is given to companies. Recently on 22 August MP Cabinet had taken a decision to lease out 1000000 hectares of non forest waste land mainly to private parties in the denomination of 100 and 250 hectors.

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Maharashtra Right to Food Cases (contributed by Priyanka Josson, India Centre For Human Rights and Law)

Tribal Malnutrition Case: On 20th Sept, 2006 the tribal malnutrition (right to food) case hearing took place in Mumbai High Court. With regard to this a compliance report (i.e report stating whether the order has been implemented and to what extent) is due to be filed on 19th October 2006. For the order please write to righttofood@gmail.com

Urban Malnutrition Case: The 2nd hearing of the urban malnutrition petition took place on 27th Sept, 2006. In light of this, the urban malnutrition PIL No.118/2006 (BHA and others v/s State Of Maharashtra and Others) has been clubbed with the tribal malnutrition petition. Both of them would be heard together on 19th October 2006. The Respondents (State of Maharashtra and others) will file their replies before 19th October 2006.

PDS-SHG Case: On 16th August 2006, the last hearing of the case of PDS-SHG was held. In this case the ration shop owners had filed petitions against the state on the Government Resolution that ration shops should be handed over to SHGs. During this hearing the Supreme Court Commissioners report was presented to the court. This report was sent to Nagpur bench via the Women and Child Development Department. Since then the court case hearing has been listed on board a number of times but it has not come for hearing as yet.

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People's Tribunal on Right to Food, Varanasi Uttar Pradesh (contributed by Dr. Lenin, People's Vigilance Committee for Human Rights)

The People's Tribunal on Right to Food was initiated by the People's Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), which is based in Varanasi, in cooperation with the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional human rights organisation based in Hong Kong. The tribunal was held on 30 September 2005 and, on October 1 2006 some of the tribunal members also visited affected villages.

People's Tribunal on Food sought to analyze and record the nature of problems and situation of the targeted communities (Musahar, Nut, Kanjar, Ghasia, Kol, Weaver & Migrant worker community). For this a public hearing was organized. The tribunal directly heard 25 detailed complaints of starvation from persons of various communities. It learnt that within the last three months, four starvation deaths had been reported in Shankarpur village of Vanarasi and Tanda village of Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh; and that the victims' families are not receiving proper attention from the government authorities. Food-for-Work schemes too are not being properly implemented. Apart from that the prevailing wage rate has not changed since 20 years and the use of power looms has completely ravaged the lives of weavers as no alternatives are available.

It also heard comments from many other persons who gathered for the hearing. The tribunal noted that the state government of Uttar Pradesh was failing in its obligations not only by international standards but also relative to many other parts of India. For instance, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu both provide for a verbal autopsy in cases of malnutrition deaths, whereupon if children under five die then everybody is called in for the autopsy-including family and community members-and it is found out whether it was a hunger death or not. This is not done in Uttar Pradesh. The state also has very high child malnutrition, estimated at 51-55 per cent, but it spends just Rs 30-50 on nutrition programmes per child, while other states like Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana spend Rs 90-100, and northeastern states spend more than Rs 500 per child.

The members of the tribunal included Justice Rambhoosan Malhotra (Retd. Judge of Allahabad High Court), Bijo Francis (South Asia Desk Officer of the Asian Human Rights Commission), Professor Deepak Malik (Director of Gandhian Institute for Studies), Dr Arvind Kumar Singh (State Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Indian Medical Association), Dr. Ms. Rolee Singh (Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Varanasi range), Mr. K K Roy (State General Secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, UP) and Mr. Ashok Kumar Sinha (former Programme Officer, Action Aid International, Lucknow).

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Special Announcements

• Special Mass Hearing on NREGA is being organized by Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity on 31st October, 2006 at Kolkata at University Institute Hall, College Square, Kolkata. The hearing will start at 10-00 a.m. Different unions, organisations working among agricultural and rural workers, eminent intellectuals, distinguished political personalities and trade union leaders, representative from West Bengal State Women's Commission will attend the hearing and give their valuable suggestions and advice after listening to the experiences of the rural workers.

• India Social Forum 9th to 13th November 2006, Delhi. The overall theme for the ISF is 'Building Another World: Visions for the Future'. Various contributions to the ISF are being planned by the secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign, in collaboration with other groups, including: (1) a stall on the right to food; (2) a cr�che facility; (3) a workshop on children's right to food; (4) workshops or seminars on employment guarantee, the public distribution system, and (possibly) the general issue of the right to food. If you have any ideas or suggestions please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com

• BAL ADHIKAR SAMVAD A public meeting on Children's Right to Food, `Bal Adhikar Samvad, is being planned for 19 th December 2006 in Delhi. This meeting is part of the follow-up to the convention on children's right to food, held in Hyderabad on 7-9 April 2006. The aim is to bring to the forefront rights of children under-six and the role of ICDS. A report of the FOCUS study, which looked at the status of ICDS in six states, will be released during the meeting. Other suggestions for the public meeting include a panel discussion, testimonies by activists, community members/leaders, anganwadi teachers etc. on the status of the ICDS, cultural activities, including songs and theatre on children's rights. Prof. Amartya Sen has agreed to participate and to be a keynote speaker. Planning for the event is underway. Your comments and suggestions are invited.

• Bal Adhikar Yatra is being organized in Delhi from the 14th to the 21st of November 2006. During this week about 15 anganwadis will be visited, where activities will be planned by the organizations active in that locality. This yatra is expected to culminate in a big gathering on the 21st of November. The venue and details of this yatra are still under planning. More details will follow in the future updates. If you wish to keep continually informed about activities in the area of children's right to food, you can join our interactive group: www.childrensrighttofood@googlegroups.com .

The secretariat of the `Right to Food Campaign' has prepared a series of PRIMERS (easy-to-read booklets) on various aspects of the right to food, like the National Employment Guarantee Act, Mid-day Meals, ICDS, and the Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food writ petition (196/2001). These primers are written in simple language and are ideal for training workshops, awareness generation campaigns etc.; and are nominally priced. To buy these primers please contact us at the email address given below. The National Book Trust is also printing these primers in all Indian languages.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications received. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

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Last updated: 28 October 2006

UPDATE 47

27th September 2006

1. Ekta Parishad: Chetavni Yatra

2. NACDOR's `March Against Poverty'

3. NREGA Implementation Status in Giridih (Jharkhand)

4. MP Employment Guarantee Scheme: Inclusion of the Differently Abled

5. Political economy of pre-launch preparedness of NREGA in Kerala by J. Chathukulam and K. Gireesan (a summary)

6. Special Announcements

7. Recent Writings of Interest

Ekta Parishad: Chetavni Yatra

Ekta Parishad is a people's organization that is committed towards attaining livelihood rights over natural resources such as land, water and forest for the land deprived communities of tribals and dalits. This organization has been active for the past 18 years in U.P., undivided Bihar and M.P., Orissa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. To further their commitment and strengthen their efforts, they organized people at the grassroots level through adivasi sammelans, public hearings, padyatras etc. Discussions have also been held with the respective state governments over land rights issues.

Achievements of Ekta Parishad include land distribution among 3 � lakh odd tribals and dalits in Madhya Pradesh. Apart from this efforts have also been made to set up taskforces by 4 state governments to look into the problems of land reforms and distribution. However despite these consistent efforts there still remain lakhs of people who are land deprived and are living in penury. To highlight their cause a chetavni yatra is being conducted from October 2, 2006 (Gwalior to Delhi). This yatra also aims at building a janadesh or people's verdict for rights over land, water and forests by the dispossessed communities.

For the details of the chetavni yatra please write to: Gandhi Bhawan, Shyamla Hills, Bhopal 462002, Madhya Pradesh, India. Tel: +91 755 4223821 Telefax: +91 755 4223821. ektaparishad@yahoo.com, info@ektaparishad.org, www.ektaparishad.org

NACDOR's `March Against Poverty'

National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) launched its Long March Against Poverty in Madhya Pradesh on 20th September 2006 from Rewa. NACDOR has been successful in ensuring possession of 1200 acres of land by Dalits and Adivasis. This `March' is envisioned to continue these efforts at ensuring access to ecologically sustainable livelihoods and assets for Dalits and Adivasis. All this will lead up to the STANDUP event on 15th and 16th October 2006 on the occasion of International Day for Eradication of Poverty.

In a meeting held in Nagpur for discussing measures for realising rights to sustainable livelihoods and employment, it was decided to organize a Rozgar Adhikar Yatra in Madhya Pradesh. A planning meeting will be held on 1 October 2006. The yatra aims to generate awareness on NREGA and collect cases studies for the state Tribunal on NREGS to be held on the conclusion of the MP Rozgar Adhikar Yatra.

NREGA Implementation Status in Giridih (Jharkhand)

A Report contributed by Mazdoor Kisan Samiti & Nari Shakti Sangathan.

An NREGA survey was organized by Mazdoor Kisan Samiti and Nari Shakti Sanghatan in Bengabad block of Giridih district, Jharkhand. 36 sample villages from 8 Panchayats were identified and the survey was conducted during the Padyatra, from 11th September to 16th the September'06.

Many lacunae were found in the implementation of the programme. For example the Act encourages formation of Gram Sabhas to monitor and plan the works, whereas it was found that the Gram Sabha was formed in only 8 out of the 36 sampled villages. Awareness amongst the people was very low and no efforts had been made on the part of the administration to spread awareness about the NREGA and its provisions. Furthermore the block administration also discouraged disabled, and APL cardholders from applying, apart from fixing a time-period for registration, where none is implied in the Act. The villagers were charged for their photographs, when it has been specified that all such costs (job cards, photographs etc.) will be borne by the administration.

Adding to their woes is the attitude of the administration. It was discovered that government officials lack knowledge as regards the Act and were non-cooperative in providing any kind of data to the public. Moreover they cause great confusion amongst the villagers and take the support of middlemen in getting implementing work at the village level, leading to corruption.

MP Employment Guarantee Scheme: Inclusion of the Differently Abled

contributed by Tanushree Sood, Commissioner's Secretariat

A state-wide consultation on inclusion of the differently-abled in NREGA was organized by Ashagram Trust in Bhopal on September 15, 2006. The workshop was attended by NGO representatives from 15 (out of 18) EGS districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Discussions were centered around NREGA with focus on provisions under the Act for the people with disabilities. Some crucial tools (under NREGA) that were discussed to protect the rights of the disabled, minorities, SC/STs and OBCs were:

• Schedule II, Clause 34 of the NREGA stating that there shall be no discrimination solely on the ground of gender and the provisions of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, shall be complied with

• Empowering NREGA by power to the Gram Sabhas. It was emphasized that the process of inclusion can begin from the very stage of the village or the panchayat. Any kind of issues pertaining to discrimination should be raised in the Gram Sabhas. Further, the Gram Sabhas are empowered to pass resolution to this effect. A crucial understanding needs to be developed while working towards inclusion. Firstly, in many cases, the differently abled do not want to work as they feel inferior and incapable. It is extremely important to overcome this challenge through (i) motivating them and (ii) discussing the prospects of work with them. It is important to understand that `work' can be split in smaller easy-to-do parts. And these can be further carried out by the differently-abled. Ashagram trust has prepared a list of works that can be undertaken by the differently abled. Discussions were held on the tasks and policy matters too. The above mentioned list will be revised in view of the discussions and shared with the participants shortly.

The consultation was briefly attended by Mr. Wasim Akhtar, Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, MP. He stated that the state is providing work to about 17-18 lakh people each day. A monitoring format will soon be developed, by the state, to ascertain the number of days of employment gained by (i) the SC/STs, (ii) the differently-abled. He also stated that Annupur district will be added in the EGS district list of the state soon (perhaps this year).

It was heartening to note that Ashagram Trust has achieved some level of success towards securing jobs for the differently abled in the NREGA. They were able to achieve this through the following process:

1. Meetings with the panchayat members on the issue.

2. Discussions with the differently abled aimed at (i) spreading awareness about the provisions of the Act, (ii) motivating them and (iii) discussing and preparing possible list of works that can be carried out by them

3. Discussions with the family members of the differently abled

4. Encouraging the differently abled to work

5. Preparing videos of the PwDs in action at the worksites

6. Showing these videos to the sarpanchs, sachivs etc to build and strengthen their faith in their matter.

7. Discussions with Self-help and other groups in the village to raise and present the issue with force

8. Discussion at two level of works: one that can be independently performed by them and the second which can be carried out by them with the help of family members.

Political economy of pre-launch preparedness of NREGA in Kerala by J. Chathukulam and K. Gireesan (a summary)

Wage Employment Programs (WEPs) have been implemented in Kerala since the 1980s, starting with the National Rural Employment Program, Employment Assurance Scheme, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna to now the NREGA. However it has been noticed that the problems which plagued the earlier WEPs are also manifest in the NREGA. An interesting problem which the authors point towards is, is that an impression has been created in the Kerala society and administrative circles that such programs are designed keeping in view the interests and requirements of North Indian states and are hence unsuitable to Kerala.

The NREGA has come into force in 2 rural districts of Kerala: Palakkad and Wayanad. In preparation for this scheme many training programs have been held for various levels. However since these sessions were conducted on an ad-hoc basis they did not prove fruitful or enlightening to the elected members and officials. The implementation of the program is also hampered by inadequate staff- support. Additional staff has not been appointed in many places contributing to the slow pace. Moreover the authors indicate a lack of ownership by the elected representatives, government and officials of the program. This attitude is compounded by the nature of the Panchayati Raj system in Kerala. Inhere each tier of PRI has its independent status, position and responsibility often disregarding the other two tiers. Nonetheless there are positive developments. For instance increased registration by the marginalized sections has been noticed: 32.21% of SC population and 64.88% of ST population.

The full report is available here

Special Announcements

• • Annual Convention of the Right to Food Campaign: The Annual Convention is to be held in April 2007 tentatively. The first preparatory meeting of this Convention is being held on the 7th of October 2006 (Saturday). The meeting will be held at Mobile Cr�ches (DIZ Area, Raja Bazar, Near Gole market, New Delhi 23363271, 23347635), from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is an open meeting. The broad theme and structure of the convention will be discussed apart from the date and the venue. Please write to the righttofood@gmail.com for further details and to confirm your participation or absence.

  • Ekta Parishad is conducting a Chetavni Yatra (padyatra) starting 2nd October 2006 from Gwalior to 22nd October 2006, culminating at Rajghat, Delhi. This yatra aims to highlight the struggle for livelihoods by the poor over natural resources like land, water and forests. For the complete itinerary you can write to righttofood@gmail.com.

  • India Social Forum 9th to 13th November 2006, Delhi. The theme for the ISF is proposed to be, `Building Another World: Visions for the Future'. An estimated 60000 people from India, other countries of Asia, and Africa are expected. The Right to Food Campaign will put up a stall and organize cr�che facility. Apart from this the Right to Food Campaign is planning to hold a workshop focusing on children's right to food, tentatively titled `Action for ICDS'. This may be done in alliance with other groups. In addition to this a workshop will be conducted on the general issue of `the Right to Food'. We request you to send in your suggestions regarding theme and issues for the second workshop.

  • Bal Adhikar Yatra and Anganwadi Divas are being organized in different parts of the country. The idea to celebrate such a day/week arose in the Hyderabad Convention on Children's Right to Food (April 2006). Planning for this is underway in Delhi, Jharkhand, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Greater details will follow in the upcoming updates. Watch this space.

  • 19th December 2006. A big event is being planned on the issue of Children's Right to Food. This meeting is proposed to be held on the 19th of December in Delhi. The objective of the meeting would be to bring to the forefront rights of children under-six and the role of ICDS. It has been suggested that the report of the FOCUS study which looked at the status of ICDS in six states be released during the meeting. This could even be followed by a panel discussion. Some other suggestions for the public meeting include having testimonies by activists, community members/leaders, anganwadi teachers etc. on the status of the ICDS, cultural activities, including songs and theatre on children's rights. Prof. Amartya Sen has agreed to be a keynote speaker. Planning for the event is underway. Your comments and suggestions are invited.

  • Recent Writings of Interest

• • Cabinet clears state Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme [Goa]

  • Fit service delivery systems with rural job scheme: panel

  • State's progress dismal in rural employment scheme [Karnataka]

  • Starving Childhoods

  • Govt schemes not reaching needy? Help a click away

  • Wasted subsidies

  • Supplyco makes record market intervention

  • The secretariat of the `Right to Food Campaign' has prepared a series of PRIMERS (easy-to-read booklets) on various aspects of the right to food, like the National Employment Guarantee Act, Mid-day Meals, ICDS, and the Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food writ petition (196/2001). These primers are written in simple language and are ideal for training workshops, awareness generation campaigns etc.; and are nominally priced. To buy these primers please contact us at the email address given below. The National Book Trust is also printing these primers in all Indian languages.

  • [NOTE: These Updates are prepared by the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications received. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

  • Last updated: 2 October 2006

UPDATE 46

31st August 2006

1. NREGA Worker's Union

2. Initiatives by Disha (Gujarat)

3. News from PBKMS

4. Children's RTF updates

5. Brief Announcements

6. Recent Writings of Interest

NREGA Worker's Union

The Gujarat Labour Commissioner has accepted the formation of NREGA Workers union- Gujarat. This is probably the first registered trade union under NREGA. This union will provide a voice to workers employed under NREGA to seek and secure their entitlements to the 100 days employment guarantee. This union will be registered under the Labour Act (trade union) of Gujarat and the constitution of the union will be similar to the labour unions for Gujarat. The annual fee for all the members is fixed at Rs 6.

Initiatives by Disha (Gujarat)

DISHA (Developing Initiatives for Social and Human Action) is a mass based and membership based organization formed in 1985, working towards improvement of socio-economic conditions of marginalized communities, mainly the tribal societies and other landless labourers in Gujarat. In different villages, the community members, Gram Panchayat members approached Eklavya Sangathan (an umbrella group for DISHA's work) during beginning of February 2006 to clarify their doubts and concerns regarding the scheme. It was soon realized that there were widespread misconceptions and generalizations, which prevailed in all the tribal districts.

With an objective of bridging this information gap at the grassroots level, Eklavya Sangathan of DISHA compiled all the important information in the concise form of a pamphlet in the local language- Gujarati to initiate an awareness campaign. To ensure clarity of the scheme for Gram Panchayats, Eklavya Sangathan organized joint information distribution along with Taluka Development Officers. These exercises ensured synchronization in the understanding of the governmental officers, DISHA and Gram Panchayat members. These exercises were conducted during March 1st to 20th 2006. Some discrepancies in the implementation of NREGA:-

• Those who have some dues pending like annual revenue, house tax or similar taxes are not allowed to get registered for work in some villages.

• Those who do not possess ration cards are not able to get registered.

• Those living under joint family and who have only one ration card for the entire joint family have not been given the option of registering for all eligible adults.

• In most of the villages only one person per family is being registered on the interpretation of the scheme that only one person is supposed to be given work per family. However, consideration is not given to a situation where the registered person is unable to work due to illness and any adult family member is entitled to take up work under the scheme.

Incidentally Disha organized support for the formation of a statewide union (in Gujarat), an effort that has succeeded. This statewide union will work for effective implementation of the Act, payment of minimum wages for the guaranteed works and representation of different work related issues. A general meeting of the people working under the Act and forestland tillers was organized at Bagh Tekri (Godhara), under the aegis of Eklavya Sangathan. Around 5000 workers from 6 districts of Gujarat and representatives of different Non-Governmental Organisations attended the meeting and supported formation of the union.

Local Initiatives in Bengal by Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Sangathan (PBKMS)

[Translations from Poura O Grameen Sambad by Shyamsree Dasgupta]

The PBKMS has been organizing agricultural labourers in the state of West Bengal to demand work under the NREGA.

In this regard the agricultural labourers of five villages in Vikrampur (Nakshipara block, Nadia) had issued a charter of demand to the local panchayat on 17th May. In the charter they have demanded the job for both men and women workers in their family. One hundred and seventy labourers in this region have already applied for the job cards two months ago but are yet to receive it. However the administration remained completely silent in this matter despite the panchayat pradhan's promise for speedy distribution of job- cards. This willful delay by the panchayat has evoked discontent among the labourers. They had mentioned it very clearly in their charter that there is basically no provision for employment in the village. As a result they have had to emigrate. According to the female family members of the workers' family if the jobs are not available everybody will definitely die out of hunger in the near future. However the pradhan tried to bypass all the allegations raised by the laborers regarding the negligence with the pretext of being extremely busy with the works to be done for the forthcoming election.

The West Bengal Agricultural Labour Association and Women's Labour Association motivated more than 500 workers in different blocks in 24 Parganas (s) to gherao the BDO offices in the issue of 100-day employment and the distribution of the job cards on July 7th. Both the association and the gheraokaries complained that even after the job cards were distributed the BDOs and the panchayat pradhans were taking just no initiatives to assign the job. The gherao was withdrawn only after an executive magistrate listened to them and assured them that the job cards would be distributed soon. On the 6th of July more than 400 applicants gheraoed the Kakdeep BDO office. They complained that despite being informed earlier, the BDO was not present in the office. In a similar mobilization in Sagar block, more than 500 workers of West Bengal Agricultural Labour Association and Women's Labour Association gheraoed the BDO. The allegation was the same. In Namkhana, on the other hand, the BDO office had been gheraoed on 11th of July as the authority failed to distribute the cards within the due date of 30th June. Almost 500 male and female villagers participated in the gherao. The spontaneous participation of the women was remarkable.

Children's RTF updates

The Right to Food Campaign, secretariat has created an e-group (childrensrighttofood@googlegroups.com) to discuss issues specifically related to children's rights to food. On behalf of the Secretariat, we will send regular updates bringing you interesting reports of activities and studies, from around the country. The first such update has already been circulated. To view this you can visit the homepage of childrenstighttofood@googlegroups.com . If you wish to be a member of this group, please write to us at righttofood@gmail.com.

For other news on current activities, please visit our website www.righttofoodindia.org.

Brief Announcements

• Anantapur Padyatra: A padayatra and mass Social Audit is being organized in Ananthapur district from 30 August to 9 September, 2006. It is being organized by 37 NGO networks and Civil Society Organizations in collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Anantapur social audit initiative will attempt to build on the experiences of the ongoing social audit campaign in the State, as well as draw on the lessons learnt from a similar exercise that was carried out in the month of April this year in Dungarpur District (Rajasthan) by the "Suchna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyaan"

• Public Hearing in Giridih: To protest the delay in beginning works under the NREGA, a public hearing is being organized on 20th September2006, to review the implementation of this act in Giridih district of Jharkhand. This meeting is being organized by Mazdoor Kisan Samiti and Nari Shakti Sangathan.

• Bal Adhikar Yatra, Delhi: Groups and organizations in Delhi have decided to conduct a Bal Adhikar Yatra from 14th to 21st November tentatively, as discussed in the Hyderabad Convention. The activities and programs are still under discussion.

Recent Writings of Interest

• Finance ministry moots sweeping changes in subsidy schemes

• Octroi, indirect taxes on food articles need to be abolished: study

• Rally to highlight Churachandpur PDS

  • Rural Employment: Myth & Reality by Sreelatha Menon [Business Standard, subscription only]

    • Caste divide at work in NREGP : Aug 16th

    • Bravehearts champion villagers` right: Aug 15th

    • Job cards not enough to stop exodus from Bundelkhand: Aug 14th

    • Haryana govt sloth denying workers right to work: Aug 12th

    • Here women are discouraged: Aug 11th

    • Rajasthan tops states in job card holders: Aug 10th

    • Why low wages do not pass muster here: Aug 9th

    • Fake entry is the buzzword at Dungarpur work sites: Aug 8th

    • Village `dole` takes baby steps amid apathy, graft: Aug 7th

• Over 83 Lakh Households Provided Employment Under Nrega

• Committee to look into anganwadi workers' demands

• Eleventh Plan ignores food and nutrition insecurity

The secretariat of the `Right to Food Campaign' has prepared a series of PRIMERS (easy-to-read booklets) on various aspects of the right to food, like the National Employment Guarantee Act, Mid-day Meals, ICDS, and the Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food writ petition (196/2001). These primers are written in simple language and are ideal for training workshops, awareness generation campaigns etc.; and are nominally priced. To buy these primers please contact us at the email address given below. The National Book Trust is also printing these primers in all Indian languages.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications received. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

Last updated: 2 October 2006

UPDATE 45

5 August 2006

These updates are prepared on a fortnightly basis to circulate information on activities around the country relating to the right to food. This and past updates are available on our website: www.righttofoodindia.org. The website also contains a wealth of information regarding different aspects of the campaign, from government legislations to campaign activities, and much more. If you would like to send us any information to be included in future updates, kindly write to us at righttofood@gmail.com.

1. Hunger Deaths

2. Tribals Fighting A Battle for Inclusion in BPL Lists: Betul, Madhya Pradesh.

3. Padyatra in Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh

4. A Significant Victory for RTI in Orissa

5. Disability and NREGS in Badhwani, M.P.

6. Recent Writings of Interest.

1. HUNGER DEATHS [Information Sent in by Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Prashant, Right To Food Campaign M.P. Support group, and Karoo ji]

Reports of hunger and malnutrition deaths of both children and adults are coming in from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The alarming fact is that these deaths have occurred in villages and districts which have witnessed similar deaths in the past 2 - 3 years. The situation in Sheopur district ( Madhya Pradesh) is by far the worst with 16 deaths. Villages of Karahal Block, Sheopur District, Madhya Pradesh have witnessed deaths of as many as 16 children due to malnutrition and hunger in the months starting April 2006. There were 8 deaths in Patalgarh village alone where the administration had stepped in last year after 13 children lost their lives. More recently 7 children have died in Karrai village of the same block in the past month. All the children are aged between 1 month and 7 years. These deaths are occurring despite the presence of an anganwadi in the village. Some districts of Bihar have witnessed 6 hunger deaths of adults aged between 35 years - 60 years. The most distressing of all is the news that 2 of these adults committed suicide as they could see their children hungry no more.

One cannot help but repeatedly notice that these hunger deaths are occurring amongst the extremely deprived communities, who have been targeted by the government in various welfare schemes. All the deceased children from Sheopur belonged to the Saheriya community. The nine-month- old girl who died in Belwa village of Varanasi distt., belonged to the Musahar tribe. In such a situation the degree of commitment and effectiveness of the administration is questionable.

2. TRIBALS FIGHTING A BATTLE OF POVERTY LINE

Tribals of Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, under the banner of Shramik Adivasi Sanghathan and Samajwadi Jan Parishad tribals have staged a 4 days long dharna, (at Shahpur Tahsil office), protesting the removal of their names from the new BPL list. In this regard they are conducting a BPL survey, whose results they wish to compare with the official survey to expose the irregularities. They allege that the government is dividing them by only adding few names in the list when all the tribals in the village are of equal economical status.

As a part of their struggle a demonstration is to be held on 20th July 15, 2006 at the Betul Collector's office, to demand joint resurvey of BPL in all the villages of the district.

3. PADYATRA IN SANT RAVIDAS NAGAR BHADOHI (UTTAR PRADESH):

Bhadohi better known as a 'Carpet Hub' internationally is one of the most backward and politically neglected districts of Uttar Pradesh. A recent research conducted by PAHARUA found 80% of children belonging to Dalit communities to be malnourished and denied of their basic rights of protection, survival and development. The situation of other marginalized communities like Nuts, Mushars and Banjaras is similar.

In this backdrop PAHARUA plans to organize a Mass Campaign to bring to the fore the situation of mass violation of Human Rights, in particular the right to food. The Campaign in the form of a PAD YATRA will commence from Village Rampur Ghat, known for its backwardness and caste based atrocities on 1st August 2006 and ends [pic]on 7th August 2006 at the District Head Quarters after covering various Development Blocks of District Bhadohi. During the PAD YATRA activists will perform street plays and inform people about their various rights under the Right to Food. They will also collect actual evidences and case studies through process of social audit.

To address the claims and queries of community members a Public Hearing is being organized on 17 August 2006 at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Park, Gyanpur, Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi. The public hearing will be attended by Retired Justice, Food Commissioners appointed by Honorable Supreme Court and eminent Social Activists.

4. A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY FOR RTI IN ORISSA: [Contributed By Chitta Behera And Pradip Pradhan, Orissa ]

Some activist groups have informally come together to launch a State-wide campaign for ensuring a proper operationalisation of the RTI Act 2005 soon after it was notified on the Gazette of India in June 2005 last. The specific objectives of the campaign were (a) to contribute to the advocacy efforts then going on at national level for pressing the Central Government to frame citizen-friendly rules as mandated by the Central Act; and more importantly (b) to effectively lobby with the State Government of Orissa to make the State rules under the Act as much pro-poor as possible keeping in view the interest of the overwhelming bulk of State's population.

However, the Campaign faced a formidable challenge to its mission when the Government of Orissa announced on 7th October 05 a set of Rules that ran diametrically counter to the very basic mandate of the Act. Not only were the various fees prescribed by it exorbitantly high, so to say the highest in India, but also its entire corpus of provisions were found to be in violation of the mother law and out and out anti-people. Further, the Orissa Rules contained some draconian provisions too, like Rule-13, which said that if an applicant failed to pay any dues within 30 days of the notice to that effect, it would be realized by way of recovery of arrears of land revenue. This means that his/her property may be confiscated and auctioned off for the purpose, or alternatively he/she may have to undergo civil imprisonment ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months. Recognising the role of legislators in influencing the process of rule-making by the Government, the Campaign convened a Consultation with MLAs to convince them of the illegitimate and anti-poor nature of the Orissa RTI Rules and also approached them individually for the purpose. As a result 11 MLAs, all belonging to ruling BJD-BJP coalition (none from opposition was present then due to the boycott of Assembly by them on other grounds), rose in one voice on the floor of Assembly on 3rd April 06 to demand a thoroughgoing amendment of the notified Rules. Following this effort revisions were made in the state RTI rules.

To carry the message of our campaign further across to other States and networks at national level, a website was also launched at www.orissarti.com and the events and memoranda of the campaign were displayed there for perusal by all. Apart from this the following bunch of bilingual publications (both in English and Oriya) were also prepared: RTI Act 2005, Central Rules and Central Appeal Rules, The Template for Information Handbook under Section 4(1b) of the Act, The RTI Act from the civil society perspective, Orissa RTI Rules 2005, Why Absurd and Illegitimate?

5. DISABILITY AND NREGS IN BADHWANI, M.P. (Contributed by Sachin Jain)

It is heartening to note that in Badhwani district of Madhya Pradesh the disabled are being given employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Here, 84 handicapped persons from 26 villages are not only successfully engaged in physical labour, but are also getting employment in other assignments under the Scheme. The role played by voluntary organizations such as, Asha Gram Trust and SANGATI, is commendable in fighting for the inclusion of the disabled in the scheme. Right from arranging for the official recognition certificates as 'handicapped persons', to identifying works that can be done by variously handicapped persons, under the Madhya Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, these organizations have worked to break the social barriers facing the disabled.

6. RECENT WRITINGS OF INTEREST

1. Employment Guarantee in Jharkhand: Ground Realities by Jean Dr�ze and Bela Bhatia [EPW]

2. 55 pc kids in State malnourished: CAG

3. Recognise us as government staff: anganwadi workers

4. Meghalaya Govt to issue job cards from I-Day

5. Centre modifies ICDS scheme for north-east

6. Wheat procurement below target: Govt

7. MSP for paddy raised by Rs 10

8. 13 Lakh Tonnes Of Non-Levy Sugar For August

9. Two months on, NREGS a success story in 10 Bengal dists

10. It's now easier to get ration cards

The secretariat of the 'Right to Food Campaign' has prepared a series of PRIMERS (easy-to-read booklets) on various aspects of the right to food, like the National Employment Guarantee Act, Mid-day Meals, ICDS, and the Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food writ petition (196/2001). These primers are written in simple language and are ideal for training workshops, awareness generation campaigns etc.; and are nominally priced. To buy these primers please contact us at the email address given below. The National Book Trust is also printing these primers in all Indian languages.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the campaign. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

Last updated: 25 August 2006

UPDATE 44

15 July 2006

We are resuming the Right to Food Update which covers news from the ‘field’ about various activities surrounding the NREGA, PDS, ICDS and other food schemes. The present update carries information about the consultations taking place for the 11 th Plan, updates on the recent Supreme Court hearings regarding PDS and Supplementary Nutrition Scheme, from the Commissioner’s Office and the Forest Right’s Bill. If you have any information that can be included in the updates (on these and children’s issues) please write to us at righttofood@gmail.com .

• RTFC Secretariat

• Hyderabad Convention Report

• Supreme Court Update

• Commissioners Update

• Public Distribution System

• 11 th Plan (Planning Commission)

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

• Violence against JADS in Barwani

• Forest Rights Bill

• Website update

• Recent writings of interest

1. RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT:

The campaign has been doing quite well recently, with a whole range of activities related to children’s right to food, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the public distribution system, and related issues. An attempt is also being made to strengthen the secretariat of the campaign. The secretariat has recently moved to new premises (see address below), and two full-time workers, Gurminder Singh and Spurthi Reddy have joined, in addition to Navjyoti J. We are hoping to play a more active role in facilitating various activities of the campaign.

Address: RTFC Secretariat, Q-21-B Top Floor, Jangpura Extension, New Delhi 110014.

Ph. No: 011- 43501335

2. HYDERABAD CONVENTION REPORT

A Convention on Children’s Right to Food was held in Hyderabad on 7-9 April 2006.  The main purpose of this convention was to bring together individuals and organizations with a special commitment to children’s right to food, to share experiences and plan future action.  About 400 participants from 15 different states, who are working on this issue in various ways, took part in the Convention. 

One of the main themes of the Convention was the role of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in protecting the rights of children under the age of six, including their right to food, nutrition, health and pre-school education.

For the full report please visit:http://www.righttofoodindia.org/icds/icds_convention.html

3. SUPREME COURT UPDATE

9 th June Hearing: On June 9 th 2006 the Supreme Court cleared the decks for the implementation of the supplementary nutrition scheme by training the self helf groups (SHGs) with an aim to take over the anganwadis from the NGOs in the national capital.

Pursuant to the apex court order that no contractors would be used for the supply of nutrition in anganwadis, Delhi government framed a detailed scheme for capacity building of SHGs to prepare and supply supplementary nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) programme. The scheme envisaged that within 27 months the SHGs would be trained and would completely take over the running of the anganwadis from the NGO. According to the scheme, pregnant and lactating mothers were to be trained and involved in the programme to bring their children to the anganwadis. 

The scheme was held up for two months as three of the registered non profit organisations, which had applied for training the SHGs, had taken legal recourse after their application was rejected by the Delhi government. Delhi government by an affidavit had alleged that the three NPOs had approached the court with malafide intention as they were catering contractors having commercial interests and were trying to take up the project in the garb of NGO.

12 th July Hearing:This hearing mainly concerned the Public Distribution System. The Court said these directions are being passed in the light of the fact that there is large scale corruption in the PDS and no remedial steps are being taken. The Supreme Court has ordered the constitution of a central vigilance committee to be chaired by a retired Supreme Court Judge, who will be assisted by Dr. N.C. Saxena (Commissioner of Supreme Court appointed in the writ petition filed by PUCL vs. Union of India 196/2001). The work of the Committee is to be financed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India.

The Committee has been asked to, within four months, file a report on:

1. The mode of appointment of PDS dealers

2. The commission that should be payable to PDS dealers

3. The functioning of vigilance committees on a regular basis (I.e. civil society vigilance

committees)

4. Transparency in allotment of food stock to be sold at PDS shops.

The recommendations of the Committee are to apply initially to Delhi and then to the rest of the country. The remedies recommended by the committee will be available in addition to legal remedies already available.The Committee has been asked to seek the opinions of civil society groups.

4. COMMISSIONER’S UPDATE (CONTRIBUTED BY BIRAJ

PATNAIK- COMMISSIONERS SECRETARIAT) :

The Office of the Commissioners assisted the legal team and the

Government of Delhi in a matter pertaining to the removal of

contractors from the ICDS for SNP provision in the Delhi High Court

and subsequently in the Supreme Court.

The Office of the Commissioners also interfaced with officials and

activists in Maharashtra on the PDS reforms being undertaken there.

The Office has been following up with all State Governments on the

implementation of the Sixth Report by visits to the States as well as

regularly raising the issues through correspondence with State /

Central Governments. The Commissioners have also intervened in the

Supreme Court on the non-implementation of the SC order on

universalization of the ICDS which is expected to come up during the

next hearing.

The Office of the Commissioners is analyzing all the field reports

that have been received on the implementation of the NREGS from across

the country and raising these issues with the MoRD. A analytic

compilation of the guidelines of all the States is also underway.

Active interventions have been made by State Advisers including

commissioning of a Joint Commission of Enquiry (JCE) in MP, a public

hearing on the NREGS in Orissa, BPL review in Rajasthan and West

Bengal and a field investigation on the exclusion of Muslims from the

NREGS in Gujarat.

A number of new State Advisers have also been appointed by the

Commissioners including, Dr. Indira Hirwey (Gujarat), Dr.Ginny

Srivastava (Rajasthan), Dr. Rama Melkotte (Andhra Pradesh),  Tarun

Bharatiya (Meghalaya) and Samir Garg (Chhattisgarh). Dr. Veena

Shatrugna (Deputy  Director of the National Institute for Nutrition)

has consented to be the National Adviser (Nutrition) to the

Commissioners.

5. PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Pro-active steps in Barabanki:

Under the banner of Rozi Roti Samiti and Aim, Lucknow some organizations filed a complaint against PDS dealer of Dadera village, (Nindura block), Barabanki district, U.P. with the support of villagers. After investigation by the investigative officer the dealership was cancelled. Upon receiving a complaint the Chief Development Officer, Barabanki ordered for allotment of PDS shops through open Gram Sabha Meetings. However vested interests in the village disrupted the meeting by stone-pelting and firing in the air. All this was done to threaten the dalit groups of the village.

After this incident the community groups with Rozi Roti Samiti mebers met the District Magistrate who assured them that he will immediately resolve the issue and continue the allotment of PDS shops through Gram Sabha meetings.

PDS Capacity building workshop:

A capacity building workshop is being planned for August 2006. This is in continuation of the discussion started in the Hyderabad Convention, April 7-9 2006. This workshop will invite 2-3 persons from each state who will be trained in investigation and monitoring measures of PDS shops and transactions, through a questionnaire. The participants are then required to conduct similar exercises in their respective states and disseminate the training. A PDS Primer is also in preparation for this workshop.

6. 11 th PLAN

In the context of preparing the 11 th Plan the Planning Commission has formed a "Working Group on Food and Nutrition Security". Kavita Srivastava, Vandana Prasad and Jean Dreze are members of this Group. The Working Group is expected to submit its report by end September. The Hyderabad Statement with a short covering letter were circulated, which helped put the spotlight on "universalization with quality". 

For the full concluding statement of the Hyderabad Convention please visit: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/hyd06concludingstmt.doc

Another group called “Steering Committee on Nutrition” (chaired by Sayeed Hameed) has also been formulated. They have released a “background note” which can be accessed athttp://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/11plan/conceptnote.doc .

7. NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

The last few months have witnessed heightened activity around the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Organizations across the country have conducted dharnas,padyatras, and audits to assess the effectiveness of the implementation and practices of corruption. The general picture which emerges from their reports is far from satisfactory. The implementation of the scheme is riddled with common problems. The most worrisome of which is that in many states NREGA works have not been started at all with the existing works under the National Food for Work Programme being converted to NREGA works. Some state governments have also issued circulars stating that no work will be provided in the months of monsoon and harvesting. Other recurrent problems include non-issuing of job cards, non-payment of unemployment allowance, delayed and incomplete wage payments, false entries in muster rolls etc.

However these endeavours have had many a positive effect, the most important of which is spreading awareness. Apart from encouraging the villagers to demand accountability, it spurred the district administration in many places to start registration, issue job cards etc.

For detailed news on NREGA please refer to the Rozgar Updates available on the website. http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/rozgarupdates.html

8.VIOLENCE AGAINST JAGRIT ADIVASI DALIT SANGHATAN,

BARWANI (MADHYA PRADESH):

The Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS) has been very active in the campaign for the law, and has, since its passage, been systematically spreading awareness regarding its provisions and mobilizing adivasis for its successful implementation. Recently at a meeting called by the Badwani Collector on 16 th June 2006 (on the insistence of about 2000 adivasis who had gathered for a prior ‘jan sunwai’ that the Collector failed to attend, despite committment), the gathered assembly were stopped from entering the Block office by a local political leader, a few sarpanchs and secretaries. The said political leader, Sildar Patel, assaulted Madhuri Krishnaswami ( member, coordination committee JADS) and a few more. The SDM and SDOP who, along with a police force were present at the spot did not intervene. The Collector and SP too did nothing till half an hour after their arrival, during which Madhuri was repeatedly assaulted.

When the “jan sunwai” was begun, the assailants were also present and every time a JADS member raised an issue regarding implementation of NREGA they were shouted down, with the active encouragement of the Collector.

To read the full text of the letter written by JADS to Dr. N. C. Saxena visit: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/ega_news.html.)

9. FOREST RIGHTS BILL (CONTRIBUTED BY SHANKAR

GOPALKRISHNAN –CAMPAIGN FOR SURVIVAL AND DIGNITY)

India's forests today have tens of millions of inhabitants, many of whom

have been there for centuries but most of whose rights were not recorded

during the arbitrary process of declaring ‘government forests’ (thereby

overnight converting them into "encroachers").  These forest dwellers

are subject to periodic evictions, harassment, extortion and brutality; 

thus it's no accident that tribals are among the most marginalised sections of

our society.  

The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 

a measure to address this injustice by giving legal recognition to the

rights of forest dwellers, was introduced in Parliament last year

after year-long mass protests and a "controversy", the latter being

generated through misinformation from the Ministry of Environment and

Forests.   The Bill was then sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee,

which gave an excellent report that recommended correcting most of the

serious flaws in the original Bill and inculded most of the demands of

people's organisations.  The government  has yet to respond to the JPC

report and is expected to do so in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The struggle to get the recommendations accepted and to have a just and

effective forest rights Bill passed continues.

10. WEBSITE UPDATE:

Much work is taking place on the website with new additions. The new material includes:

a) A background note by the Steering Committee on Nutrition for the Eleventh Five-

Year Plan, http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/11plan/conceptnote.doc

b) A report on the mass social audit conducted in Dungarpur, and the Hyderabad

Convention Report (www.righttofoodindia.org ).

c) A document detailing the tools and guidelines for verification of muster rolls is also

available (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/ega_keydocs.html ).

d) A comparitive chart of state EGA schemes.

(http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/2006jun_state_ega_comparision.xls )

e) The latest Rozgar update and Right to Food Updates are regularly made available on

the website. Moreover the latest news stories are also available in the “News Stories”

section.

11. RECENT WRITINGS OF INTEREST:

“Employment guarantee and migration” by Reetika Khera [The Hindu 13/7/2006] http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/13/stories/2006071303360900.htm

“DM orders frequent raids on fair price shops” [Lucknow Newsline 13/7/2006]

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=192534

“ SC Directs For PDS Monitoring Committee to Check Corruption” [12/7/2006]

http://www.indlawnews.com/141DBBD38D7F6D84B2121A63F29060A1

“ Anganwadi workers seek better honorarium” [Pune Newsline 10/7/2006]

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=192271

“Malnutrition is a serious problem in Mumbai, admits government” [The Financial Express, Mumbai 10/7/2006]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=133368

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel. 011-435 01335, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the campaign. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

Last updated: 15 july 2006

UPDATE 43: Convention Follow-up

Dear friends,

Happy New Year. Much is happening in the wake of the "second national convention on the right to food and work", held in Kolkata on 18-20 November. We shall try to keep track of the follow-up activities around the country. Here is a starter:

1. KOLKATA CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

2. PRIMERS AND OTHER CAMPAIGN MATERIAL

3. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

4. CHILDREN'S RIGHT TO FOOD

5. SUPREME COURT UPDATE

6. COMMISSIONERS' ADVISORS WAKE UP

7. SIXTH REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS

8. LEGAL ACTION IN HIGH COURTS

9. CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN MID-DAY MEALS

10. FOREST RIGHTS BILL

11. WEBSITE UPDATE

1. KOLKATA CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

The second "national convention on the right to food and work" was held at Badu (near Kolkata) on 18-20 November 2005. About 600 activists from all over India participated in the convention. The inaugural address was given by P. Sainath, who took stock of the food and employment situation in the country. In the same session, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta assured the audience that the Government of West Bengal was "fully prepared" to implement the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Parallel workshops were held on the public distribution system, children's right to food, the protection of existing livelihoods, forest and land rights, and social security for unorganised workers. Two series of training workshops were also conducted: one on use of the Right to Information Act, and one on the Employment Guarantee Act. Other activities included cultural programmes, a plenary lecture by Dr. Debal Deb on the WTO, a presentation on the struggles of sex workers in Kolkata, spirited testimonies from two South African delegates, and an impromptu bonfire.

The last session of the convention, on 20 November, focused on organisational issues. Many interesting views were presented on the possible structure of the campaign. The debate continues and it was resolved that a follow-up meeting on organisational issues would be convened soon. Meanwhile it was agreed that the annual convention would be the backbone of the campaign, that the secretariat would continue, and that an "advisory group" would be formed to guide the work of the secretariat.

A more detailed report on the convention is under preparation. Meanwhile, feel free to contact the secretariat of the right to food campaign (righttofood@gmail.com) for further information.

2. PRIMERS AND OTHER CAMPAIGN MATERIAL

The Kolkata convention was an opportunity to prepare new "campaign material", including a set of four "Primers" (introductory booklets) on various aspects of the right to food: (1) Supreme Court orders; (2) the Employment Guarantee Act; (3) mid-day meals; and (4) ICDS (a fifth Primer, on the right to information, is on the anvil). These Primers are written in simple language and addressed to a wide audience. They are ideal for training workshops, awareness generation campaigns and related activities. For instance, in the Primer on Supreme Court orders you can find a convenient summary of all the orders on a specific issue (e.g. PDS, mid-day meals or ICDS). Similarly, the Primer on the Employment Guarantee Act discusses the key provisions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, in a simple question-answer format. Each Primer ends with a section on "What We Can Do", with ideas of possible campaign activities.

Printed copies, with simple illustrations and a nice colour cover, can be ordered from the secretariat (righttofood@gmail.com). The Primers are quite cheap (Rs 10 to Rs. 15 per copy). Soft copies are also available on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org). As of now, the Primers are available in English and Hindi - translations in other languages are awaited.

Also available from the secretariat is a new CD on the right to food, with hundreds of key documents including the full text of all Supreme Court orders, the Commissioners' reports, the Right to Information Act, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, soft copies of the Primers, survey questionnaires, a long list of articles, and more. All this for Rs 50 only!

3. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

Many useful ideas of future campaign activities were discussed at the Kolkata convention (more on this in the forthcoming convention report). The "coordinators" of parallel workshops held at the Kolkata convention are expected to facilitate the launch of follow-up activities on the respective workshop themes. Contact details of the workshop coordinators are as follows: "Children's right to food": Jean Dreze (jaandaraz@gmail.com) and Vandana Prasad (chaukhat@yahoo.com). "Public distribution system": Annie Raja (nfiwdelhi@yahoo.com). "Land and forest rights": Paul Divakar (pdivakar@satyam.net.in) and Soumen Roy (rsoumen@rediffmail.com). "Social security for unorganised workers": Subhash Bhatnagar (nmpsdelhi@sify.com). "Protection of Existing livelihoods": Ilina Sen (ilina@senonline.com).

The training sessions on RTI and EGA were coordinated by the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI) and People's Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG). They can be contacted at mkssrajasthan@gmail.com and rozgar@gmail.com, respectively. And of course you can always contact the campaign secretariat (righttofood@gmail.com) for information and guidance.

4. CHILDREN'S RIGHT TO FOOD

A lively workshop on "children's right to food" was held at the Kolkata convention, on 18 November. There were nearly 200 participants, many of whom also took part in two follow-up meetings on 19 and 20 November. Many interesting ideas of follow-up activities came up at the workshop, especially in connection with the universalization of ICDS (or rather, "universalization with quality"). A small team was formed to take this forward. The team consists of Dipa Sinha (Children's Rights Protection Forum), Gurjeet (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti), Geeta Mahajan (National Federation of Indian Women), Hemlata (Mobile Crèches), Nandini Nayak (Centre for equity studies), Sachin Jain (Vikas Samvad, MP), Samir Garg (Koriya district, Chattisgarh), Vandana Prasad (Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan).

A "preparatory meeting" will be held on 6 January 2006 in Delhi to discuss the possibility of a special convention on "children's right to food". If you are interested in participating in this meeting please write to righttofood@gmail.com or Dipa (dipasinha@gmail.com).

5. SUPREME COURT UPDATE

Supreme Court hearings in the "right to food case" (PUCL vs Union of Indian & Others, Writ Petition [Civil] 196 of 2001) continue at regular intervals but there have been no major orders in recent months. Recent hearings have focused on PDS-related issues including the "BPL list" as well as the level of food allocations from the Central Government to the state governments. No agreement has been reached so far. The next hearing will take place on 14 February 2006.

For further details of recent orders, and other aspects of the case, please write to Anup Srivastava at the Human Rights Law Network (righttofoodsccase@hrln.org).

6. COMMISSIONERS' ADVISORS WAKE UP

The state "advisors" of the Commissioners gathered at Jamia Hamdard (New Delhi) on 24-26 October for a three-day workshop aimed at reviving this important means of keeping the state governments on their toes. The state advisors essentially act as a link between the Commissioners, the state governments, and activist organisations. In some states the Commissioners' advisors have been quite active, and their work has helped to ensure the implementation of Supreme Court orders, or even to influence government policy beyond the Supreme Court orders. Many states, however, did not have an active advisor so far. The workshop greatly helped to reactivate and strengthen the advisors' network. For further details of the activities of the advisors please write to commissioners@vsnl.net

7. SIXTH REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS

Meanwhile the Sixth Report of the Commissioners has been submitted to the Supreme Court. This is a jumbo report, with a mass of useful information on the food-related schemes (mid-day meals, ICDS, PDS, etc.) covered by recent Supreme Court orders. The report is available on the campaign website (at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/comrs/comrs_reports.html).

8. LEGAL ACTION IN HIGH COURTS

One of the issues discussed at the recent workshop of Commissioners' advisors is the possibility of legal action in the High Courts. This has already happened in Chhattisgarh, to ensure the "de-privatization" of the public distribution system (PDS). More recently, Sachin Jain (Vikas Samvad, Madhya Pradesh) filed a petition in the High Court at Jabalpur, MP. This petition relates to the Government of Madhya Pradesh's announcement inviting contractors to supply nutritional supplements under the ICDS programme. The Supreme Court order of 7 October 2004 mentions that contractors should not be used for this purpose, and that ICDS funds should be used to involve village communities, Self-Help Groups and Mahila Mandals in the purchase of food and preparation of meals for children at the Anganwadis. Further legal action in the High Courts is expected during the next few months. For further details please contact Anup Srivastava at the Human Rights Law Network (righttofoodsccase@hrln.org).

9. CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN MID-DAY MEALS

Following media reports of discrimination against Dalit children in the provision of midday meals in Bhokludih village of Chhattisgarh, a fact-finding team of the Dalit Study Circle and Dalit Mukti Morcha visited the village in October 2005. This village has two Dalit families; all the other families are OBCs or Adivasis. Two Dalit boys in Class 5 in the government school complained that they were given meagre helpings of food, and that this was not served to them but contemptuously hurled into their plates. They were also forced to sit separately, and not allowed to mix with the other children. When the boys tried to demand more food and enter the kitchen, they were rudely reminded of their caste status, and told that they should not touch the food, or it would become polluted, and the others would not be able to eat it. A girl student was told that since she was from a Chamar family, she should be careful not to touch the water, for her touch would pollute it. When the Dalits complained, they were told that they should remember their caste status, and not overstep the bounds of such barriers. When a local teacher (Kamala Chauhan) took up their cause, she was transferred. The local police station also refused to register a complaint, on the grounds that such matters are dealt with by the special police station dealing with SC/ST issues. Deepanjali Sahu, the Sarpanch, and her husband, Shankar Sahu, also refused to address the issue, claiming that no such incident had occurred.

The children, understandably, are not too keen on attending a school that does not treat them like the other children, and will only serve them small quantities of food, after humiliating them. Dalits live in fear, as hostility between castes is now palpable. Instead of acting to quell such practices, the official machinery has endorsed untouchability. On a more positive note, this incident received wide publicity and helped to raise public awareness of the need to deal sternly with any incident of caste discrimination at school.

10. FOREST RIGHTS BILL

As you know, many organisations have been campaigning for a new law on "forest rights". The aim of this law is to redress the historical injustice done to millions of Adivasis and other forest-dwelling communities, by giving them titles to forest land and giving legal recognition to traditional forest rights (e.g. the right to collect minor forest produce). The Forest Rights Bill was tabled in Parliament on 13 December 2005. However, this Bill has many flaws and the campaign for a more effective law continues. Organisations that have been active on this issue include the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (forestcampaignnews@gmail.com), Jan Sangharsh Morcha (sasbetul@yahoo.com) and Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti (loksamanway@yahoo.co.uk), among others. A new section on "forest rights" has been added on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), to support this movement.

Among recent demonstrations related to the Forest Rights Bill was a rally and dharna held at Jantar Mantar on 7 December. Expending meagre resources and travelling long distances, hundreds of Adivasis gathered there to protest against forced evictions and demand land rights for all forest-dwelling Adivasis, even within sanctuaries and national parks. The dharna received the support of Left political parties such as the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and RPI(A). A ten-point memorandum was handed over to the Minister of Tribal Affairs. The demands included guarantees against evictions, adequate rehabilitation of those already displaced, legal titles to forest land, and an end to the marginalisation of Adivasis. This rally and dharna were initiated by Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti and Lok Sangarsh Morcha.

11. WEBSITE UPDATE

The website manager has been working hard, and there is a lot of new material on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org). Please visit the "Latest Additions" page (www.righttofoodindia.org/latest.html) from time to time for a list of the new documents. For instance, reports from a range of field-based studies on mid-day meals are now available through the homepage and the mid-day meals page. On the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) too there are some important and useful documents including the draft Guidelines (from the Ministry of Rural Development), the list of the 200 districts where the Act is expected to come into force soon, a power point presentation on the NREGA, etc.

Other recent website additions include:

- Survey tools designed for field investigations of the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP), along with reports from a pilot survey conducted in 7 districts in May-June 2005 (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/nffwp.html).

- The Sixth Report of the Commissioners (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/comrs/comrs_reports.html), submitted to the Supreme Court in December 2005 - including a massive review of all the food-related schemes covered by recent Supreme Court orders.

- A new section on the Forest Rights (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/campaigns/forestrights.html), added in collaboration with the Campaign for Survival and Dignity. Their "updates" and other key documents are also available through the right to food campaign website.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel 011-2351 0042 or 9350530150, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the campaign. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

Last updated: 7 February 2005

UPDATE 42: Convention Special

Dear friends,

This is a special Update in anticipation of the Second National Convention on the Right to Food and Work, to be held in Badu (near Kolkata) on 18-20 November 2005. We hope to see you at the convention.

The headlines:

1. FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT (please circulate widely)

2. CONVENTION PROGRAMME

3. VENUE AND HOW TO REACH

4. STAYING ARRANGEMENTS

5. LOCAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONVENTION

1. FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT (please circulate widely)

The second “national convention on the right to food and work” will be held in Badu (near Kolkata) on 18-20 November 2005. About 400 participants, representing a wide range of organisations working on these issues, are expected from all over India. Some participation is also expected from Bangladesh, South Africa, Sri Lanka and possibly Brazil.

The convention is an opportunity to share experiences of struggle for the right to food and work, and to plan further activities. The main themes include the public distribution system, children's right to food, the Employment Guarantee Act, the Right to Information Act, legal action for the right to food, land rights, and forest rights, among others. This will be an action-oriented event, structured around a series of parallel workshops, plenary meetings, training sessions, cultural activities, and more.

If you are planning to participate, please inform the secretariat of the “right to food campaign” (contact details below) in advance. All participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements, and to contribute Rs 100 to the cost of lodging and subsistence for three days. You are welcome to bring your own ideas, songs, plays, posters, pamphlets and other resources.

For further info, including the programme of the convention and details of the venue, see www.righttofoodindia.org or contact the secretariat of the “right to food campaign” (righttofood@gmail.com, tel 011-2351 0042 or 09350530150).

2. CONVENTION PROGRAMME

The convention programme is given below. Some details are yet to be finalised. Updated versions of the programme will be posted from time to time on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

DAY 1 (18 November)

MORNING SESSION (10 am to 1 pm)

Inaugural plenary:

- Introduction [Anuradha Talwar]

- Welcome address [Ashim Dasgupta (to be confirmed)]

- Keynote address [P. Sainath]

- Brief interventions by invited speakers [to be announced]

Chair: Gopal Gandhi (to be confirmed)

AFTERNOON SESSION (2.30 to 6.30p.m)

Parallel workshops:

- Public distribution system [coordinated by Annie Raja]

- Children's right to food [coordinated by Jean Dreze and Vandana Prasad]

- Protection of existing livelihood [coordinated by Ilina Sen]

- Land rights and forest rights [coordinated by Vincent Manoharan]

- Social security [coordinated by Harsh Mander and Subhash Bhatnagar]

- Emergencies and food security [coordinated by Vinod Raina]

DAY 2 (19 November) Morning Session

MORNING SESSION (9 to 10.45)

9 to 10.45: Legal action for the right to food and work (plenary, coordinated by Colin Gonsalvez and Harsh Mander)

11.00 to 1 pm: Use of the Employment Guarantee Act (parallel training sessions, coordinated by People’s Action for Employment Guarantee)

AFTERNOON SESSION

2.30 to 4 pm: Use of the Right to Information Act (parallel training sessions, coordinated by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan)

4.30 to 6 p.m.: Reports from workshops and discussion (plenary)

6.00 to 7 pm: Lecture on WTO by Dr. Debal Deb (plenary)

DAY 3 (20 November)

9 to 11.30: Organisational issues (plenary, coordinated by Anuradha Talwar and Navjyoti)

12 to 2 pm: Concluding plenary

- Future activities

- Resolution

- Concluding address by Aruna Roy

3. VENUE AND HOW TO REACH

The venue of the convention is: Badu Collective, c/o JSK Training Centre (Nutan Ashram), 1, Shibtola Road, Village Maheswarpur, P.O. Badu, Kolkata 700 128 (tel: 033-2526 0386, 09433002064, e-mail Jsk@cal2.vsnl.net.in)

To reach the venue:

1. From Howrah station take L 238 bus to Madhyamgram Chowmatha OR, from Sealdah Station take a local train to Madhyamgram Station and then walk down to Madhyamgram Chowmatha.

2. From Madhyamgram Chowmatha, take an auto or bus to Badu IthKhola.

3. From Badu Ithkhola take a van rickshaw to JSK Training Centre (also known as Nutan Ashram locally or as the Mahila Samity).

4. STAYING ARRANGEMENTS

Staying arrangements are in dormitory type places at the JSK Training centre or in club houses, schools and houses that have are being lent by the local people for the convention. We shall be able to provide mats or dhurries on the floor to sleep on, so please carry any other bedding that you need. Please also carry the following: a light blanket; a light sweater or shawl; mosquito repellent; a torch.

5. LOCAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONVENTION

In West Bengal, active preparations for the convention have begun. A press conference was held in Kolkata on 26 October, addressed by Kamal Mitra Chenoy (People’s Action for Employment Guarantee), Kavita Srivastava (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), and members of the Right to Food and Work West Bengal Network.

On 28 October, members of the Network flagged off a jeep colourfully done up with festoons, posters and flags. The jeep carrying 4-5 volunteers who have traveled through 9 districts so far, covering a distance of 1800 kilometres. Street corners and meetings with local organisations were held in many villages. The group visited areas near the Ganges where erosion has led to the disappearance of homes, land and livelihood of people. It has also visited closed tea gardens and chronically hungry areas of Birbhum and Purulia districts. It has been publicizing the fact that the second National Convention is to be held from 18 to 20 November 2005. It is also creating awareness about the Supreme Court orders on the right to food, and about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act. The jeep is expected to reach Kolkata on 9 November after completing its journey.

From 7 November to 9 November, there is a 72 hours “Awasthan” in Kolkata where about 1000 people from rural areas of West Bengal will be joined by people and intellectuals from Kolkata. For three days, these people are sitting in front of Metro at Kolkata in order to draw public attention to the non-implementation of the Supreme Court orders and to tell people in Kolkata about the forthcoming National Convention.

In addition on 16 and 17 November, Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy shall be meeting students and teachers of the National University of Juridicial Sciences and other educational institutions like the Jadavpur University, Kolkata University and the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences to inform them about the Right to Food Campaign, its relevance in today’s context and the National Convention.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel 011-2351 0042, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the Right to Food Campaign. If you’d like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

Last updated: 17 November 2004

UPDATE 41: NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD & WORK

Dear friends,

This is the first of a new series of "right to food updates". The Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign, based on communications from individuals and organizations working on the right to food and related issues all over the country. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website www.righttofoodindia.org for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.

This Update begins with an invitation to the "second national convention on the right to food and work", to be held in Kolkata on 18-20 November 2005. Please mark these dates in your diary, and don't postpone train bookings for too long as this is peak season for the Indian Railways.

Today's headlines:

1. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

2. "EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT" - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

3. NEW PRIMER ON THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

4. DRAFT PRIMERS ON MID-DAY MEALS AND ICDS

5. NEW STUDIES ON MID-DAY MEALS

6. MASSIVE "JAMIN ADHIKAR" RALLY (SURAT, 20th SEPTEMBER)

7. RECENT REPORTS OF HUNGER DEATHS

8. WORKSHOP ON COURT ORDERS (NAGPUR, 16-18 SEPTEMBER)

9. NEW STUDY ON CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN FOOD PROGRAMMES

10. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT COMES INTO FORCE

1. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

The second "national convention on the right to food and work" will be held in Kolkata on 18-20 November 2005. This is a follow-up to the first national convention, held in Bhopal on 11-13 June 2004, and also to the convention on "Employment Guarantee the Right to Work" held in Ranchi on 17-19 June 2005 as part of the Rozgar Adhikar Yatra. We expect a good turn-out from all over the country, and also a few participants from afar - South Africa, Bangladesh and (hopefully) Brazil.

Among the main issues to be discussed at the convention are: the public distribution system; children's right to food; the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; the Right to Information Act; land rights; gender aspects of the right to food; legal action for the right to food; organisational aspects of the right to food campaign. This will be an action-oriented event, structured around a series of parallel workshops, plenary sessions, cultural activities, and more.

For further information, including the tentative programme and details of the venue, please check the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org ) or contact the secretariat of the right to food campaign (righttofood@gmail.com, tel 011-23510042 or 09350530150).

2. "EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT" - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was passed by the Indian Parliament on 23 August 2005. Under this Act, any adult who is willing to do unskilled manual labour is entitled to being employed on public works within 15 days, subject to an initial limit of "100 days per household per year". If work is not provided, an unemployment allowance has to be paid.

Work on the "Rules" of the NREGA has been initiated by the Ministry of Rural Development. A new section on this has just been added (under "Employment Guarantee Act") on the campaign website ( http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/egarules.html). This section includes draft guidelines prepared by the Ministry for a consultation held on 15 September, various responses and comments, and related documents. The draft Rules will also be posted there as soon as they are available. If you have any comments or suggestions on the Rules, please send a line torozgar@gmail.com

Under the Act, each state government is supposed to put in place an "Employment Guarantee Scheme" (EGS) within six months, to give effect to the employment guarantee. Some state governments have started framing an EGS or holding consultations on this issue. We shall try to monitor this process as it unfolds, but local organisations are best placed to find out what is happening in their own state.

3. NEW PRIMER ON THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

A "Primer" on employment guarantee was prepared last year, to facilitate public discussion of this issue. The Primer is written in an accessible style, using a simple question-answer format, and costs only a few rupees per copy. It is highly suitable for training workshops and related activities.

A new version of the EGA Primer is being prepared, based on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA). The draft of this new Primer is available atwww.righttofoodindia.org (on the Home Page - see box called "Primers on the Right to Food"). Feel free to adapt the draft for your own purposes and to translate it in local languages. Comments on the draft are welcome, please send them to rozgar@gmail.com.

4. DRAFT PRIMERS ON MID-DAY MEALS AND ICDS

Primers are also being prepared on "mid-day meals" and ICDS. The Primer on mid-day meals explains in simple words why mid-day meals in primary schools are important and what grassroots organisations can do to ensure that all children get a nutritious meal at school. The Primer on ICDS makes a case for "universalization with quality", presents the Supreme Court orders on ICDS, and discusses various possibilities of action.

Drafts of these Primers are also available in the box "Primers on the Right to Food", on the Home Page of the campaign website ( www.righttofoodindia.org). They are due to be finalised in advance of the Kolkata convention in November. If you have any comments on the draft Primers, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com

5. NEW STUDIES ON MID-DAY MEALS

A new study of mid-day meals in Madhya Pradesh has just been completed by Samaj Pragati Sahyog. The study covers 70 schools spread over 7 districts. On the positive side, the study found that mid-day meals are in place in all the villages and that they have had dramatic effects on school attendance: pupil enrolment in Class 1 rose by 35 per cent within one year, after mid-day meals were introduced. A vast majority of parents and teachers want the mid-day meal scheme to continue. On a less cheerful note, the infrastructure (cooking sheds, utensils, etc.) is highly inadequate and the quality of mid-day meals leaves much to be desired. Also, because the management of mid-day meals has been handed over to "parent-teacher associations" (PTAs), which are often inactive, teachers end up spending a lot of time organising the meals. For the full report please write to Samaj Pragati Sahyog (samprag@sify.com)

Two other insightful studies of mid-day meals have recently been completed, one by Farzana Afridi on mid-day meals in Madhya Pradesh, and one by Julia Blue on mid-day meals in Udaipur (Rajasthan). For further details, see the "mid-day meals" section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

6. MASSIVE "JAMIN ADHIKAR" RALLY IN SURAT, 20th SEPTEMBER

Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation working for the democratic rights of Adivasis and Dalits, recently conducted a series of grassroots meetings in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. This culminated in a huge rally at the District headquarters on 16 August, 2005. Two rallies were also held in Surat and Rajpipla, in the Narmada district of Gujarat. Surat witnessed perhaps the largest mobilization of tribal and working people on issues relating to their livelihood: 15,000 Adivasis, Dalits and landless people converged at Ambedkar Statue, Surat. Prominent trade union leaders and comrades addressed the gathering. The resolution passed at the rally demanded a halt to the transfer of natural resources and public sector companies to multinational companies; it took note of the Gujarat government's move to lease more than 47 lakh hectares of land to corporate houses at a pittance for 20 years; it demanded a common school system; it condemned the displacement of tribal people in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh; it demanded the ownership rights of tribal groups to lands they have cultivated over generations. The rally also demanded that the draft Tribal Bill 2005 be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament, after necessary modification. For further info please write to Pratibha Shinde at loksamanway@yahoo.co.uk

7. RECENT REPORTS ON HUNGER DEATHS

There has been a series of recent reports on hunger deaths in various places, including Nandurbar (Maharashtra), Sonebhadra (UP), Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh), and Baran (Rajasthan). The full reports are available on the campaign website (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/field_reports.html). Short summaries follow below:

• In Nandurbar, a report entitled "Maranatach He Jag Jagate" was recently prepared by Punarvasan Sangharsh Samiti (PSS). This report is based on information obtained under the Right to Information Act, and a survey conducted by PSS in 22 villages of the Akalkuwa Block of Nandurbar District. A huge discrepancy was found between the situation on the ground, revealed by the PSS survey, and the government records: of the 1148 children surveyed by PSS in June, 104 were found to be malnourished, but the government records show only 17 cases of malnourishment. As many as 75 per cent of the women surveyed were seriously underweight. The report highlights the cycle of undernutrition, which gets transmitted from weak mothers to undernourished children. The 23 September issue of Frontline also carried a cover story on this issue.

• There have also been reports of hunger deaths in Sonebhadra (U.P.). One of the victims is Chirauji Devi, a woman who was looking after a sick husband, a handicapped son, his wife and four grandchildren. She worked under the Food For Work programme but her wages were not paid. Prior to her death, nothing had been cooked in the house for fourteen days. This and other cases of starvation deaths in U.P. were to be heard at a session of "Indian People's Tribunal" (IPT) to be held in Varanasi on 30 September 2005. Details are awaited, meanwhile please contact pvchr@yahoo.com for further information.

• A recent report by Uma Chakravarti presents a grim account of the predicament of 160 Sahariya families in Majhera village, Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh). Adult men in Majhera work in hazardous stone quarries and there is a high prevalence of tuberculosis in the village. Recently the quarries were shut, on the grounds that they destroy the environment. This forced the Sahariyas to resort to the forest for survival. Deaths were reported from eating poisonous herbs and leaves. The village has a large number of widows, who are forced to resort to the liquor trade for a living. No widow pensions or maternity benefits were available to these women. The fair price shop has been distributing rice to the Antyodaya Anna Yojana cardholders at twice the stipulated price (Rs. 6 per kg).

• A six-member team from the Institute of Development Studies Jaipur (IDSJ) and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) recently visited Baran district to investigate deaths reported in the local press as due to hunger, undernutrition and illness. In the month of August, 48 deaths were reported from 40 villages. Half of the victims were children. The team visited six villages and investigated various causes of these deaths: chronic undernutrition, inadequate vaccination, absence of emergency health care, poor hygiene, among others. The team also found some signs of positive change since last year. For instance, the PDS is functional, and employment programmes have protected many families from hunger. However, chronic energy deficiency and lack of a balanced diet remain widespread.

8. WORKSHOP ON COURT ORDERS (NAGPUR, 16-18 SEPTEMBER)

A workshop was convened in Nagpur on 16-18 September at Nagpur by the Right to Food Campaign, Maharashtra. The programme included presentations on food security, the public distribution system, ICDS, mid-day meals, pension and maternity benefits, the state of primary health centres, and the Employment Guarantee Act. The aim was to work out a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of various Supreme Court orders. For further info please contact priyankajosson@yahoo.com

9. NEW STUDY ON CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN FOOD PROGRAMMES

The latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly includes an article by Sukheo Thorat and Joel Lee on caste discrimination in food security programmes. The abstract of the paper reads: "The findings of a survey in select states conducted in 2003 expose the patterns of exclusion and caste discrimination that afflict the government's mid-day meal scheme and public distribution system. This article investigates dalit participation in these programmes and also measures aspects of physical access, participatory empowerment and community-level access." The full article is available on the website of Economic and Political Weekly.

10. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT COMES INTO FORCE

The Right to Information Act came into force on 13 October 2005. The Government was supposed to appoint State Commissioners for RTI by 23 September 2005, and to name Public Information Officers for each department by 13 October 2005. However, this had not happened until 8 October. In response to this, Shankar Singh of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has issued an appeal to observe the week from 13-20 October as "Suchna ka adhikar arji saptaah" (RTI Applications Week), urging people to file applications for RTI in large numbers in their areas. He says, "our struggle will continue until such time that ordinary citizens use RTI to ensure an accountable and transparent government".

A "Right to Information Primer" (prepared by the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information) is available at (http://www.righttoinformation.info/rti_primer04.doc). For those based in Delhi, information on how to apply is available online at http://www.snsindia.org/rti.htm. For further information, please write to mkssrajasthan@gmail.com.

[NOTE: These Updates are prepared by volunteers on behalf of the secretariat of the right to food campaign (tel 011-2351 0042, e-mail righttofood@gmail.com), based on communications from individuals and organizations involved in the Right to Food Campaign. If you'd like to send any material for inclusion in the next Update, please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org ) for the full list of earlier Updates, and plenty of information on various aspects of the right to food.]

UPDATE 40: COUNTDOWN FOR EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE

UPDATE 39: ROZGAR YATRA TO BEGIN ON 13 MAY

Dear friends,

This Update begins with an important announcement, regarding the "rozgar adhikar yatra" to be launched from Delhi on 13 May (the last day of the Budget Session of Parliament). The main objective of this yatra is to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act.

Please note that a transition is about to be made to a new system whereby updates are sent from a "Googlegroup". Sometime duringthe next few weeks you will be receiving a greeting message signalling your inclusion in the list. Please don't "unsubscribe", unless you are fed up with these Updates. This Googlegroup is not a "discussion group", it is just a new device to continue sending the same Updates more efficiently. We are planning to send Updates about once a month from now on.

Today's headlines:

1. ROZGAR ADHIKAR YATRA (May-June 2005)

2. REPORT FROM UDAIPUR TRAINING

3. MID-DAY MEALS: NEW STUDIES GALORE

4. "MID-DAY MEAL HANDBOOK" MAKES HEADWAY

5. IMS ACT SAVED

6. CHILD RIGHTS AND THE UNION BUDGET 2005-6

7. DELHI: BREAKTHROUGH IN PDS ACCOUNTABILITY

8. NEW CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT

9. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

10. REMINDERS

1. ROZGAR ADHIKAR YATRA (May-June 2005)

A country-wide "rozgar adhikar yatra" (right to work convoy) will be launched from Delhi on 13 May 2005. The main objective of this yatra is to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act (EGA).

The yatra is a follow-up to the "display of banners" of 21 December 2005, when thousands of banners from all over the country, bearing about 10 lakh signatures demanding a full-fledged EGA, were displayed in Parliament Street (New Delhi). The banners will travel with the yatra and be displayed in various places on the way.

The yatra will go through ten states (Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh) before returning to Delhi at the end of June. Public meetings, cultural activities, training workshops, press conferences, etc., will be taking place on the way.

All organizations committed to the right to work are invited to take part in these activities. They are also welcome to the next preparatory meeting, to be held on 21 April (10 am to 2 pm) at the office of the National Federation of Indian Women in New Delhi (1002 Ansal Bhawan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, tel 2331 9541).

For further information, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com, contact "People's Action for Employment Guarantee" (9811553633 [Annie], 9810810365 [Subhash] or 9811087811 [Navjyoti]), or check the Employment Guarantee section at www.righttofoodindia.org. The proposed itinerary of the yatra is also available on this website.

2. REPORT FROM UDAIPUR TRAINING

A training workshop for activists working in "Food-For-Work" districts took place in Udaipur on 13-17 March. The workshop was a great success and generated much new energy, ideas, material, etc. About 100 activists participated, not only from Rajasthan but also from other states including Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Among other activities, the participants studied the "Guidelines" of the National Food-For-Work Programme (NFFWP). These turned out to be highly defective, e.g. there is no attempt to assess the demand for work (let alone respond to it), the transparency provisions are very weak, and the institutions of local democracy (e.g. Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas) have been sidelined. A critique of the Guidelines was prepared and is available in the EGA section at www.righttofoodindia.org.

Another useful product of the workshop is a "Primer" for activists working in the Food-For-Work districts. This includes a presentation and critique of the Guidelines in simple question-answer form, plenty of ideas for action, and a detailed section on "social audits". This Primer was written in Hindi and is in the process of being translated in English. If you are interested in a copy of the Hindi version, pleasesend a line to rozgar@gmail.com. The English version will be posted at www.righttofoodindia.org as soon as possible.

3. MID-DAY MEALS: NEW STUDIES GALORE

There is an epidemic of new studies on mid-day meals, including recent field surveys in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. Most of these are available in the Mid-Day Meal section at www.righttofoodindia.org (see also Farzana Afridi's article on MDMs in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in the latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly).

In Jharkhand, a survey was recently conducted by Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in 22 randomly-selected schools and the results are reasonably encouraging. For instance, mid-day meals were being provided every day in 95% of these schools. Further, the quality of food was found to be generally good. In all schools a cook had been employed to cook the food and all teachers except one wanted mid-day meals to continue. Almost all of them reported a substantial increase in enrolment and attendance after mid-day meals were initiated. This was verified on the basis of attendance and enrolment data. The percentage increase in enrolment was larger for girls than for boys, and particularly large among disadvantaged households (e.g. SC and ST households).

In contrast, the findings from the Bihar survey are dismal. Among 52 schools from 13 districts surveyed in February 2005, only 4 were found to have functioning Mid-Day Meals. However this survey was done within a month of the introduction of the mid-day meal scheme and hopefully the situation will improve over time.

Turning to West Bengal, the Pratichi Trust recently conducted a field study in Birbhum District. Attendance records showed a much higher impact of mid-day meals on the attendance of SC, ST and Muslim children. A majority of wage earners and small cultivators felt that the MDMs had a strong impact, whereas relatively affluent households felt that the programme had little impact. About 73 percent of teachers found some positive impact of the programme, especially in terms of increased attendance of children. Some of the problems identified in the Pratichi Trust study are poor quality of food, boring menu, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient budget allocation, caste and religious bias, and limited scope for participation of parents in the programme.

4. MID-DAY MEAL HANDBOOK MAKES HEADWAY

There have been periodic efforts to prepare a "Mid-Day Meal Handbook" for village-level workers (teachers, cooks, sarpanchs, activists, etc.). An outline was prepared a year ago and some intermittent work has been done on different chapters. A breakthrough was achieved recently in Bhopal, at a workshop convened for this purpose by Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti. An attempt is being made to finalise the draft of the Handbook within a month or so. If you are interested in this Handbook please write to Vivek at vivekdse@gmail.com. The outline is available inthe mid-day meal section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) and the draft Handbook will be posted there as soon as possible.

5. IMS ACT SAVED

In an earlier update we mentioned the campaign to prevent the repeal of the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 (or "IMS Act" for short). You will be glad to know that the IMS Act has been saved. Hats off to the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and its partners. For further info see bpni@bpni.org.

6. CHILD RIGHTS AND THE UNION BUDGET 2005-6

HAQ, Centre for Child Rights has prepared a critical note on the Union Budget 2005-6 from a child rights perspective. The note "uncovers the myth of increased allocations for Elementary Education, Mid Day Meal and ICDS." This note is available in the "ICDS" section of the campaign website (see http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/haq-report.pdf). We take this opportunity to draw your attention to this new sectionof the website. As of now it is a little thin but we expect it to grow fast in the near future.

7. DELHI: BREAKTHROUGH IN PDS ACCOUNTABILITY

In Delhi, Parivartan's struggle (see earlier Updates) has led the Government to agree to some systemic changes in the public distribution system (PDS). The shops were economically unviable due to very low commissions for the PDS dealers. The government recently announced that they would raise the commissions to make the PDS shops viable.

Following dramatic improvements in the PDS in Sundernagari (a resettlement colony), the government has agreed to throw open the records of all the PDS shops in Delhi for public inspection every Saturday from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm. People will be able to go to any office of the Food Department in Delhi and inspect the records of any shop falling in the jurisdiction of that office, without paying any fee and without giving any prior intimation. This is to be implemented in phases, starting on 1 April in two districts (East and North East). In the coming months, the rest of Delhi will also be covered. If any discrepancy is found in the records during public inspection, the shop will be suspended immediately and criminal proceedings will be initiated.

8. NEW CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign is moving to new premises, located in Siddiqui Building, Bara Hindu Rao, 6122, Bahadurgarh Road, Delhi 110 006 (tel 2351 0042). The premises are shared with two related campaigns: the National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers (NCC-USW) and People's Action for Employment Guarantee. The secretariat is currently coordinated by Navjyoti (tel 9811087811).

The new Secretariat badly needs furniture and equipment such as computers, printers, shelves etc. If you are able to help please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com or call Navjyoti. The Secretariat is funded entirely from individual donations in rupees with no strings attached.

9. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

• 5 May: Rally of unorganized sector workers in Delhi. Contact: Subhash Bhatnagar (National Coordination Committee of Unorganized Sector Workers), tel 9810810365, nirmana@vsnl.com or nmpsdelhi@sify.com

• 9 May: NAFRE convention on the right to work in Jodhpur. For further details please contact Ambarish Rai (amb1857@yahoo.com).

• 13 May to end June: "Rozgar Adhikar Yatra", a country-wide yatra to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act. See item 1 above.

• 17-19 June: Convention on employment guarantee and the right to work in Ranchi. More on this in the next update.

10. REMINDERS

We end with a few reminders:

1. If you want to receive regular "Updates" (about once a week) on employment guarantee, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com

2. Please consider circulating this information within your own organization or area, after translation in local language if necessary.

3. For further material see the campaign website, www.righttofoodindia.org

4. Feedback, enquiries, suggestions etc. are welcome - just send a line to righttofood@gmail.com (secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign).

UPDATE 39: ROZGAR YATRA TO BEGIN ON 13 MAY

Dear friends,

This Update begins with an important announcement, regarding the "rozgar adhikar yatra" to be launched from Delhi on 13 May (the last day of the Budget Session of Parliament). The main objective of this yatra is to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act.

Please note that a transition is about to be made to a new system whereby updates are sent from a "Googlegroup". Sometime duringthe next few weeks you will be receiving a greeting message signalling your inclusion in the list. Please don't "unsubscribe", unless you are fed up with these Updates. This Googlegroup is not a "discussion group", it is just a new device to continue sending the same Updates more efficiently. We are planning to send Updates about once a month from now on.

Today's headlines:

1. ROZGAR ADHIKAR YATRA (May-June 2005)

2. REPORT FROM UDAIPUR TRAINING

3. MID-DAY MEALS: NEW STUDIES GALORE

4. "MID-DAY MEAL HANDBOOK" MAKES HEADWAY

5. IMS ACT SAVED

6. CHILD RIGHTS AND THE UNION BUDGET 2005-6

7. DELHI: BREAKTHROUGH IN PDS ACCOUNTABILITY

8. NEW CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT

9. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

10. REMINDERS

1. ROZGAR ADHIKAR YATRA (May-June 2005)

A country-wide "rozgar adhikar yatra" (right to work convoy) will be launched from Delhi on 13 May 2005. The main objective of this yatra is to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act (EGA).

The yatra is a follow-up to the "display of banners" of 21 December 2005, when thousands of banners from all over the country, bearing about 10 lakh signatures demanding a full-fledged EGA, were displayed in Parliament Street (New Delhi). The banners will travel with the yatra and be displayed in various places on the way.

The yatra will go through ten states (Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh) before returning to Delhi at the end of June. Public meetings, cultural activities, training workshops, press conferences, etc., will be taking place on the way.

All organizations committed to the right to work are invited to take part in these activities. They are also welcome to the next preparatory meeting, to be held on 21 April (10 am to 2 pm) at the office of the National Federation of Indian Women in New Delhi (1002 Ansal Bhawan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, tel 2331 9541).

For further information, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com, contact "People's Action for Employment Guarantee" (9811553633 [Annie], 9810810365 [Subhash] or 9811087811 [Navjyoti]), or check the Employment Guarantee section at www.righttofoodindia.org. The proposed itinerary of the yatra is also available on this website.

2. REPORT FROM UDAIPUR TRAINING

A training workshop for activists working in "Food-For-Work" districts took place in Udaipur on 13-17 March. The workshop was a great success and generated much new energy, ideas, material, etc. About 100 activists participated, not only from Rajasthan but also from other states including Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Among other activities, the participants studied the "Guidelines" of the National Food-For-Work Programme (NFFWP). These turned out to be highly defective, e.g. there is no attempt to assess the demand for work (let alone respond to it), the transparency provisions are very weak, and the institutions of local democracy (e.g. Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas) have been sidelined. A critique of the Guidelines was prepared and is available in the EGA section at www.righttofoodindia.org.

Another useful product of the workshop is a "Primer" for activists working in the Food-For-Work districts. This includes a presentation and critique of the Guidelines in simple question-answer form, plenty of ideas for action, and a detailed section on "social audits". This Primer was written in Hindi and is in the process of being translated in English. If you are interested in a copy of the Hindi version, pleasesend a line to rozgar@gmail.com. The English version will be posted at www.righttofoodindia.org as soon as possible.

3. MID-DAY MEALS: NEW STUDIES GALORE

There is an epidemic of new studies on mid-day meals, including recent field surveys in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. Most of these are available in the Mid-Day Meal section at www.righttofoodindia.org (see also Farzana Afridi's article on MDMs in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in the latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly).

In Jharkhand, a survey was recently conducted by Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in 22 randomly-selected schools and the results are reasonably encouraging. For instance, mid-day meals were being provided every day in 95% of these schools. Further, the quality of food was found to be generally good. In all schools a cook had been employed to cook the food and all teachers except one wanted mid-day meals to continue. Almost all of them reported a substantial increase in enrolment and attendance after mid-day meals were initiated. This was verified on the basis of attendance and enrolment data. The percentage increase in enrolment was larger for girls than for boys, and particularly large among disadvantaged households (e.g. SC and ST households).

In contrast, the findings from the Bihar survey are dismal. Among 52 schools from 13 districts surveyed in February 2005, only 4 were found to have functioning Mid-Day Meals. However this survey was done within a month of the introduction of the mid-day meal scheme and hopefully the situation will improve over time.

Turning to West Bengal, the Pratichi Trust recently conducted a field study in Birbhum District. Attendance records showed a much higher impact of mid-day meals on the attendance of SC, ST and Muslim children. A majority of wage earners and small cultivators felt that the MDMs had a strong impact, whereas relatively affluent households felt that the programme had little impact. About 73 percent of teachers found some positive impact of the programme, especially in terms of increased attendance of children. Some of the problems identified in the Pratichi Trust study are poor quality of food, boring menu, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient budget allocation, caste and religious bias, and limited scope for participation of parents in the programme.

4. MID-DAY MEAL HANDBOOK MAKES HEADWAY

There have been periodic efforts to prepare a "Mid-Day Meal Handbook" for village-level workers (teachers, cooks, sarpanchs, activists, etc.). An outline was prepared a year ago and some intermittent work has been done on different chapters. A breakthrough was achieved recently in Bhopal, at a workshop convened for this purpose by Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti. An attempt is being made to finalise the draft of the Handbook within a month or so. If you are interested in this Handbook please write to Vivek at vivekdse@gmail.com. The outline is available inthe mid-day meal section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) and the draft Handbook will be posted there as soon as possible.

5. IMS ACT SAVED

In an earlier update we mentioned the campaign to prevent the repeal of the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 (or "IMS Act" for short). You will be glad to know that the IMS Act has been saved. Hats off to the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and its partners. For further info see bpni@bpni.org.

6. CHILD RIGHTS AND THE UNION BUDGET 2005-6

HAQ, Centre for Child Rights has prepared a critical note on the Union Budget 2005-6 from a child rights perspective. The note "uncovers the myth of increased allocations for Elementary Education, Mid Day Meal and ICDS." This note is available in the "ICDS" section of the campaign website (see http://www.righttofoodindia.org/data/haq-report.pdf). We take this opportunity to draw your attention to this new sectionof the website. As of now it is a little thin but we expect it to grow fast in the near future.

7. DELHI: BREAKTHROUGH IN PDS ACCOUNTABILITY

In Delhi, Parivartan's struggle (see earlier Updates) has led the Government to agree to some systemic changes in the public distribution system (PDS). The shops were economically unviable due to very low commissions for the PDS dealers. The government recently announced that they would raise the commissions to make the PDS shops viable.

Following dramatic improvements in the PDS in Sundernagari (a resettlement colony), the government has agreed to throw open the records of all the PDS shops in Delhi for public inspection every Saturday from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm. People will be able to go to any office of the Food Department in Delhi and inspect the records of any shop falling in the jurisdiction of that office, without paying any fee and without giving any prior intimation. This is to be implemented in phases, starting on 1 April in two districts (East and North East). In the coming months, the rest of Delhi will also be covered. If any discrepancy is found in the records during public inspection, the shop will be suspended immediately and criminal proceedings will be initiated.

8. NEW CAMPAIGN SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign is moving to new premises, located in Siddiqui Building, Bara Hindu Rao, 6122, Bahadurgarh Road, Delhi 110 006 (tel 2351 0042). The premises are shared with two related campaigns: the National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers (NCC-USW) and People's Action for Employment Guarantee. The secretariat is currently coordinated by Navjyoti (tel 9811087811).

The new Secretariat badly needs furniture and equipment such as computers, printers, shelves etc. If you are able to help please send a line to righttofood@gmail.com or call Navjyoti. The Secretariat is funded entirely from individual donations in rupees with no strings attached.

9. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

• 5 May: Rally of unorganized sector workers in Delhi. Contact: Subhash Bhatnagar (National Coordination Committee of Unorganized Sector Workers), tel 9810810365, nirmana@vsnl.com or nmpsdelhi@sify.com

• 9 May: NAFRE convention on the right to work in Jodhpur. For further details please contact Ambarish Rai (amb1857@yahoo.com).

• 13 May to end June: "Rozgar Adhikar Yatra", a country-wide yatra to consolidate the campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act. See item 1 above.

• 17-19 June: Convention on employment guarantee and the right to work in Ranchi. More on this in the next update.

10. REMINDERS

We end with a few reminders:

1. If you want to receive regular "Updates" (about once a week) on employment guarantee, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com

2. Please consider circulating this information within your own organization or area, after translation in local language if necessary.

3. For further material see the campaign website, www.righttofoodindia.org

4. Feedback, enquiries, suggestions etc. are welcome - just send a line to righttofood@gmail.com (secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign).

UPDATE 38: Budget 2005-6 and other issues

Dear friends,

This update covers a sample of recent activities in different places, and some forthcoming events. A separate update on "employment guarantee" (the hot issue in the last few months) will follow as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if you are interested in regular updates on employment guarantee, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com or take a look at the "employment guarantee" section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) from time to time.

Today's headlines:

1. THE 2005-6 BUDGET

2. MID-DAY MEALS APPROACH UNIVERSAL COVERAGE

3. RECENT SUPREME COURT HEARINGS

4. SAVING THE "IMS ACT"

5. GUJARAT: RIGHT TO FOOD CONVENTION (6-7 DECEMBER, 2004)

6. DELHI: BRUTAL ATTACK ON PARIVARTAN ACTIVIST

7. MADHYA PRADESH: HUNGER-RELATED DEATHS IN SHEOPUR

8. KARNATAKA: NEWS FROM JAGRUTHA MAHILA SANGHATAN

9. CYCLE YATRA (MAHAD TO DELHI) TO BEGIN ON 20 MARCH

10. REMINDER: MEETINGS ON 9 MARCH AND 10 MARCH IN DELHI

11. OTHER FORTHCOMING EVENTS

1. THE 2005-6 BUDGET

The Union Budget 2005-6, presented on 28 February 2005, includes big increases for a range of food-related programmes. The central allocation for Mid-Day Meals has increased from Rs. 1,675 crores to Rs. 3,010 crores and the allocation for ICDS has increased from Rs. 1,645 crores to Rs. 3,142 crores. In his Budget speech, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said: "It is my intention to ensure that, in every settlement, there is a functional anganwadi that provides full coverage for all children" - a clear endorsement of recent Supreme Court orders on ICDS. However the financial allocations remain much below what is required for "universalization with quality", both for mid-day meals and for ICDS.

As far as the Employment Guarantee Act is concerned, the Finance Minister stated in his speech, "I promise to find the money for the programme" (we are saving this one-liner for future reference). Meanwhile allocations for Food-For-Work and SGRY (the "precursors" of the Employment Guarantee Act) have been boosted. The figures are not entirely transparent, because the "food component" of SGRY and FFW allocations does not appear in the Budget Papers. A note on this is available on request from rozgar@gmail.com. The bottom line is that allocations for SGRY and FFW are likely to rise by about 50% in 2005-6, compared with 2004-5, e.g. the cash component is due to increase from Rs 6,400 crores to Rs, 9000 crores. The anticipated grand total for 2005-6, if the food component is valued at the so-called "economic cost" of Rs 11/kg (the established practice), comes close to Rs 20,000 crores. If the food component is valued at market price or BPL price (a more sensible idea), the anticipated grand total is around Rs 15,000 crores. In spite of these substantial increases, the allocations fall far short of what is required to implement an Employment Guarantee Act in the initial 150 districts and continue SGRY in the other districts.

2. MID-DAY MEALS APPROACH UNIVERSAL COVERAGE

Further progress has been made towards universal mid-day meals in primary schools. The Supreme Court cracked the whip again on 17 October 2004 and directed all the "laggard" states to ensure that mid-day meals are introduced by January 2005. To the best of our knowledge, very few states if any are yet to initiate mid-day meals. However, the coverage remains incomplete in some states and of course the quality of MDMs leaves much to be desired in many places.

Since 1 September 2004, the central government has been providing financial assistance for mid-day meals to the tune of one rupee per child per day (in addition to free grain). State governments are expected to reciprocate by providing another rupee, so that the minimum national norm of "two rupees per child per day" (suggested by the Commissioners of the Supreme Court) is achieved everywhere. It is very important to ensure that state governments don't react to this enhanced central assistance by reducing their own contribution. If you suspect that this is happening in your state, please send a line to the Commissioners at commissioners@vsnl.net

A recent article in Frontline ("Noon Meal: A Progress Report" by Annie Zaidi) gives a useful overview of the mid-day meal situation in different parts of the country.

3. RECENT SUPREME COURT HEARINGS

Things have been rather quiet in the Supreme Court in recent months. The last hearing in the "right to food" case (PUCL vs Union of India and Others, Writ Petition [Civil] 196 of 2001) took place on 17 October 2004. Recent orders deal mainly with ICDS, mid-day meals, the Antyodaya programme, and related matters. The orders area available in the "Legal Action" section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

Meetings have also been held with the Ministry of Rural Development regarding the "BPL list", at the initiative of the Commissioners. The new BPL list, based on the 2002 BPL Census, has been "stayed" by the Supreme Court for nearly two years. The Ministry wants to go ahead with the new list but has agreed to put in place an effective appeal procedure for those who feel that they have been unfairly excluded from the list. The details of the proposed appeal procedure are awaited.

4. SAVING THE "IMS ACT"

A lively campaign is on to save the IMS Act from being repealed. "IMS Act" stands for the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 as amended in 2003. The aim of the IMS Act is to protect babies from harmful infant feeding practices promoted by commercial interests.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is proposing to repeal the IMS Act through the "Food Safety and Standards Bill 2005" (see www.mofpi.nic.in). The aim of this Bill is to bring about a single statute relating to food, with an emphasis on food safety. However, repealing the IMS Act would not contribute towards this aim.

On 8 February 2005, a meeting ("Coming together to save the IMS Act") was convened in Delhi by four leading national networks and organizations: Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India Alliance for Child Rights (IACR), and Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). Twenty-seven organizations representing public interest groups, public health groups, women's' groups, economists, health professionals, and several prominent individuals in the field of economics and health, came together to oppose the repeal of the IMS Act. "Peoples Petition: Save Babies by saving the IMS Act" was prepared and signed by all participants, for submission to the President, Prime Minister and other concerned Ministers. For further information please send a line to Arun Gupta (arun@ibfan-asiapacific.org) or Vandana Prasad (chaukhat@yahoo.com).

5. GUJARAT: RIGHT TO FOOD CONVENTION (6-7 DECEMBER, 2004)

Devgadh Mahila Sangathan (DMS), Panam Mahila Sangathan (PMS) and ANANDI organized a two-day convention in early December to discuss food insecurity in the adivasi belt of eastern Gujarat and to launch a state-level campaign for people's right to food (Anna Suraksha Adhikar Abhiyan). Participants came from eleven districts of Gujarat. The first day's discussion centred on the PDS, ICDS and SGRY. The faulty identification of BPL beneficiaries, irregular opening hours/days of the ration shop, wrong entries in ration cards, obstructive behaviour of dealers, etc., were some of the PDS-related problems that came up. DMS described how they had been able to improve the functioning of the PDS in their area by constant monitoring of the PDS and by pressurizing the administration. In relation to SGRY, corruption in payment of wages and the use of contractors were the two main issues. Poor quality of food provided through the ICDS, discrimination against tribal children in anganwadis and mid-day meals, irregularity of supplies were some of the problems in the food security schemes for children. On the second day of the convention, a jan sunwai (public hearing) on food security was organized.

The convention ended with a plan to continue to work on these issues and to generate greater awareness of food security issues, especially the Supreme Court's orders. Pressure on district authorities has been kept up after the convention by DMS, PMS and ANANDI to ensure that they do not forget the matter. This has included submitting written complaints, holding rallies, alerting authorities to instances of corruption, etc.

6. DELHI: BRUTAL ATTACK ON PARIVARTAN ACTIVIST

Earlier "updates" have often covered Parivartan's struggle to eradicate corruption from the public distribution system (PDS) in Delhi. Parivartan activists have been regularly harassed and threatened by local henchmen. In December, Santosh of Parivartan was brutally attacked and her throat was slashed with a knife (it is a miracle that she is still alive).

Repeated attempts to obtain justice did not get beyond vague assurances from the authorities. Recently the Chief Secretary was asked to address 21 common grievances within a prescribed time limit. A suggestion regarding a penalty for violating prescribed time limits was made. A draft of a legislation (People's Grievance Commission) to look into such matters was presented to the Chief Secretary. The draft can be obtained from parivartan@parivartan.com.

On 26 January, residents of Sundernagari decided to forego their rations unless they were given these with honesty, dignity and peacefully. Following this protest, we have received the following news from Parivartan: "Since 1st February, almost unbelievable things are happening in Sundernagari. The Delhi Government is keeping a strict vigil on each of the shops. The Food Inspector is moving around with a video camera to record the movement in each shop. The Assistant Commissioner and the Food Officer of the area are moving around in the area to ensure that the shops are open and there is sufficient stock. The shops which used to open for just a few days in a month are opening daily (even during the lunch hours!)."

A forum for whisteblowers, "Citizen's Forum Against Corruption" has also been formed. For further details please contact Naveen at tk.naveen@gmail.com.

7. MADHYA PRADESH: HUNGER-RELATED DEATHS IN SHEOPUR

In Sheopur district (MP), 13 children died in early February 2005 due to measles and related complications. These deaths are also due to the failure of basic food- and health-related services. According to the report of a medical team (dated 11 February, 2005), some of the complications arose because of the high levels of undernutrition among the children. In this Sahariya dominated area, recent Supreme Court orders have been brazenly violated. For instance, funds allocated for ICDS have not been fully utilized; many people are unable to lift their rations from the PDS because they do not have cards or because the shops remain closed. The Adviser to the Commissioners in Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Mihir Shah, has asked the district Collector to investigate these deaths and ensure that the Supreme Court's orders are implemented. A public meeting is likely to be held in Sheopur later this month - further details from Sachin Jain (rtfmp@rediffmail.com).

8. KARNATAKA: NEWS FROM JAGRUTHA MAHILA SANGHATAN (received from jms_chiguru@rediffmail.com)

"Jagrutha Mahila Sanghatan (JMS) is a collective of women agricultural labourers in Raichur (Karnataka), fighting for their socio-political and economic rights since the past five years. It has engaged in struggles for gender rights, campaigns against violence against women, caste atrocities and more importantly for political and economic rights through the serious drought from 2001-03 (minimum wages, drought relief, food for work, PDS and against mechanisation of harvesting) to ensure livelihood. The Sanghatan had a protest rally on 10th November, 2004 with the demands of right to food and livelihood with the recent supreme court order as a strong tool. We are also planning to continue this struggle forward and also be a part of right to food campaign."

9. CYCLE YATRA (MAHAD TO DELHI) TO BEGIN ON 20 MARCH

A cycle yatra for the rights of unorganised workers is due to start from Mahad in Maharashtra on 20 March, and to reach Delhi on 1 May after going through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. Key demands include a comprehensive legislation for unorganised workers and an immediate, full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act. This is an initiative of Asurakshit Kashtkari Sangharsh Samiti Maharashtra. For further info please contact Baba Adhav (tel 020-2421 0685 (h) and 2645 7307 (o)) or Subhash Lomte (09325212936, subhashlomte@rediffmail).

10. REMINDER: MEETINGS ON 9 MARCH AND 10 MARCH IN DELHI

A workshop on the public distribution system will be held at the Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Institutional Area (New Delhi) on Wednesday 9 March. The main purpose of the workshop is to guide legal intervention on the PDS, in the context of the public interest litigation initiated by PUCL-Rajasthan. For details, background material, etc. please send a line to Kumaran (kumran@gmail.com) or call Anoop (tel 9818653439).

The secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign is convening an important meeting on Thursday 10 March at the Indian Social Institute (10 am to 2 pm), to discuss forthcoming activities of the campaign as well as some organisational issues. The main items on the agenda are: further action for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act; further interventions in the Supreme Court; other proposed activities; suggestions for the next annual "convention"; and setting up of a new campaign secretariat in Delhi. For further details please send contact Navjyoti (nj12@rediffmail.com, tel 9811087811).

11. OTHER FORTHCOMING EVENTS

7-21 March: Campaign for Survival & Dignity dharna in Delhi with representatives from AP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Nagar Haveli, MP, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu to ensure the safe passage of "Scheduled Tribes & Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Bill 2005" in Parliament. For further details, contact Pradip Prabhu at kasht@sancharnet.in.

10-11 March: NACDOR is organizing a review of the 10th Five Year Plan at Rajendra Bhawan from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Various issues including food security and children's right to food will be discussed. For further details contact Mr. Ramanath (tel 3090 3429).

12-18 March: Training workshop in Udaipur, for activists working in "Food For Work" districts. Prior intimation from all participants is essential because of limited capacity (about 60-70 participants). If interested please contact Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan at mkssrajasthan@gmail.com

20 March: Cycle yatra for rights of unorganised sector workers starts at Mahad in Maharashtra (see above). For further info, contact Baba Adhav (tel 020-2421 0685 (h) and 2645 7307 (o)) or Subhash Lomte (09325212936, subhashlomte@rediffmail).

23-24 April: Convention on the right to work in Jodhpur, convened by NAFRE (National Alliance for the Fundamental Right to Education). Details awaited.

5 May: Rally of unorganised sector workers in Delhi, to submit a petition to the Petition Committee of Parliament. This rally is organised by the National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Sector Workers (NCC-USW). For details contact nccusw@vsnl.net

UPDATE 37: Brief Update

Dear friends,

This is a short update to alert you to some forthcoming events. A longer update is on the anvil. See also the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

STRUGGLE FOR A FULL-FLEDGED EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

The struggle for a full-fledged "Employment Guarantee Act" continues. The "National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill 2004" (NREGB 2004) was tabled in Parliament on 21 December 2004, on the same day as the "display of banners"

on Parliament Street. However NREGB 2004 is a pale shadow of earlier drafts. In fact it is so diluted that it defeats the purpose of an Employment Guarantee Act. For the full text of the Bill, and various critiques, see the "employment guarantee" section at www.righttofoodindia.org

The Bill has been referred to a Standing Committee of Parliament and is likely to come back to Parliament towards the end of the Budget Session.

Meanwhile a large number of organisations are trying to counter the dilution of the Act through submissions to the Standing Committee, lobbying of Members of Parliament, public statements, and various forms of grassroots action. More information on this will be circulated soon. If you are interested in regular "updates" on employment guarantee, please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com

12-18 MARCH: TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR EGA ACTIVISTS

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has agreed to conduct a training workshop for activists working in "Food For Work" districts, with special focus on social audits of the FFW programme. This training will be held on

12-18 March 2005 in Udaipur. Participants are expected from Rajasthan, Sonebhadra (U.P.), Surguja (Chhattisgarh) and Palamau (Jharkhand), among other places. If you are interested, please let us know or write directly to MKSS at mkssrajasthan@gmail.com

9 MARCH: WORKSHOP ON THE PDS

A workshop on the public distribution system will be held at the Indian Social Institute on Wednesday 9 March. The main purpose of the workshop is to guide legal intervention on the PDS, in the context of the public interest litigation initiated by PUCL-Rajasthan. For details, background material etc. please send a line to Kumaran (kumran@gmail.com).

10 MARCH: MEETING TO PLAN FUTURE ACTIVITIES

The secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign is convening an important meeting on Thursday 10 March at the Indian Social Institute (10 am to 2 pm), to discuss forthcoming activities of the campaign as well as some organisational issues. The main items on the agenda are: further action for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act; further interventions in the Supreme Court; other proposed activities; suggestions for the next annual "convention"; and setting up of a new campaign secretariat in Delhi. This is an important opportunity to set work priorities for the campaign secretariat and all concerned organisations are cordially invited, especially those that participated in the Bhopal convention in June 2004 and/or the "display of banners" on 21 December 2004. For further details please send contact Navjyoti (nj12@rediffmail.com, tel 9811087811).

5 MAY: RALLY FOR UNORGANISED SECTOR WORKERS IN DELHI

UPDATE 36: DEMONSTRATION FOR EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE (21 DECEMBER)

Dear friends,

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill 2004 was cleared by the Cabinet on 15 December, but the relief was shortlived. Indeed this "employment guarantee" Bill has been diluted beyond recognition. Aside from the sabotage mentioned in earlier updates, it is now learnt that the latest version of the Bill restricts both the employment guarantee and the unemployment allowance to "poor" households (read BPL households). This amounts to a neat last-minute spiking of the Act, which was meant to be based on universal entitlement and self-selection. In the light of these developments, the demonstration on 21 December in Delhi (see below) will be not just a display of banners but also a protest against this sabotage.

We are trying to keep track of the latest developments and post as much information as possible on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), in the "Employment Guarantee" section. The "official" version of the Bill is still under wraps, but it is expected to be tabled in Parliament sometime during the next 2-3 days. As soon as the official version is available the website will be updated again.

DISPLAY OF BANNERS ON 21 DECEMBER

As mentioned in earlier updates, a massive signature campaign has been taking place all over the country during the last few weeks. Signatures demanding the immediate adoption of a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act have been collected on large banners, which are now on their way to Delhi. The public display of banners - about 3,000 of them - will be taking place at Jantar Mantar (Parliament Street) on 21 December. We shall be assembling from 10 am onwards and the demonstration will start at 11 am.

Approximately 1000 participants, representing more than 200 organisations, are expected from various parts of the country. There will be a reception team at Jantar Mantar from 8 am onwards to assist participants coming from outside Delhi. If you are bringing banners, please reach Jantar Mantar well before 10 am (the sooner the better), as the arrangement of banners is likely to be a major task.

Participants are requested to help with stitching small sized banners (less than 5m wide) on either side so that they can be supported by a stick for display. Longer banners are expected to be erected on trees, railings and other available spaces. Since we have to erect a large number of banners in quick time, it would be of help if participants can tie their banners with a "sutli" and keep them ready for display. Efforts are on to erect as many banners as possible, if required by extending it up to Connaught Place.

The display of banners at Jantar Mantar will end at 2 pm. From there we shall go to 4 Ashoka Road (about 1 km from Jantar Mantar) for a follow-up cultural programme and informal meeting. This will also be an opportunity to discuss further mobilisation for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act during the next few months.

If you require any help or information at any time please contact Navjyoti (9811087811), Annie (9811553633), Somanathan (9810994611), Subhash (9810810365), or Vivek (3091 7116, 9350530150).

FOLLOW-UP MEETING ON 22 DECEMBER

A follow-up meeting will be held on 22 December, from 10 am to 1 pm, to review the situation and plan further activities. This meeting is likely to take place at the Indian Social Institute (Lodi Road), but the venue remains to be confirmed. The agenda will be decided collectively on 21 December itself. The contact persons listed above will be able to provide confirmed details of this meeting on 21 December.

FLAWS OF THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE BILL 2004

By way of update on the flaws of the Employment Guarantee Bill to be tabled in Parliament in a few days, we copy below the relevant portion of a recent "communique" on this from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), issued soon after the Cabinet meeting on 15 December.

From "Communist Party of India (Marxist)" 

Date: Sat Dec 18, 2004 11:19 am

Subject: Polit Bureau Communique

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on December 17 and 18, 2004 at New Delhi. It has issued the following statement:

...

Employment Guarantee Act

The bill to enact a rural employment guarantee Act has been introduced in parliament. This is to fulfill a commitment made in the Common Minimum Programme. However, it is unfortunate that the present bill represents a dilution of the provision made in the CMP. Instead of providing for a hundred days minimum work for one adult in every rural household, the bill seeks to target "poor households" whereby only those who are below poverty line (BPL) beneficiaries can avail of the scheme. There is no provision for payment of the statutory minimum wage decreed by the state governments. Nor is there any time period prescribed for extending the coverage of the act to the whole country.

There is no provision for ensuring employment of women in the scheme either through the nature of the work specified or by providing that 40 per cent of the jobs should go to women.

There is also no provision for the Centre providing hundred per cent of the funding and the states have to bear a share of the burden.

All these defects need to be removed if the National Employment Guarantee Act has to serve the needs of minimum employment for a vast section of the people in the rural areas.

The Polit Bureau expects the UPA government to rectify these defects in the process of the parliamentary discussions so that a more comprehensive and effective legislation can be adopted.

UPDATE 35: DISPLAY OF BANNERS IN DELHI (21 DECEMBER)

Dear friends,

This is a short Update with confirmed details of the “display of banners” event in Delhi on 21 December. The outlook for this event is very good, with some 3,000 banners (demanding a full-fledged “employment guarantee now”) expected from all over the country, and at least 1,000 participants.

The previous Update (if you missed it, see www.righttofoodindia.org) dealt with the attempted sabotage of the “Employment Guarantee Act” (EGA) by the government. Since then, some ground has been regained, but the main concerns remain, including the absence of any time frame for the extension of the EGA to the whole of India. Against this background, the planned demonstration of public demand for a full-fledged EGA on 21 December is very timely – all the more so as the draft Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament very close to that date, and in any case before 23 December.

As announced earlier, a preparatory meeting was convened in Delhi on 11 December to finalise the programme and other details. The meeting was very well attended and the spirits were high. After two hours of animated discussion, the following decisions were made:

1. The banner display event will be held at Jantar Mantar and Ashoka Road (a nearby location) on 21 December. We will assemble at Jantar Mantar at 11 am.

2. Plans are being made for striking banner displays in various locations near Jantar Mantar and Ashoka road.

3. Aside from the main display at Jantar Mantar and Ashoka Road, the banners will be also be put to other creative uses, such as other displays in public places, presentation to Members of Parliament, etc.

4. The event will take place under the ad hoc banner of “People’s Action for Employment Guarantee” (‘Rozgar guarantee ke liye jan sangharsh’ in Hindi). The participating organisations are also welcome to bring their own banners.

5. All participating individuals/organisations are expected to meet their own travel and subsistence expenses.

6. An informal meeting is likely to be convened on 22nd December, to discuss further mobilisation on this issue during the next few months. Further details will be circulated after wide consultation. 

7. A small working group was formed to take charge of the practical arrangements from now on. The group consists of: 

Subhash Bhatnagar (Nirmana) - 9810810365

Navjyoti (secretariat, right to food campaign) 9811087811

Vivek (secretariat, right to food campaign) 011 30917116 (R) 

Somanathan (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti) 981099464

Gurminder (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti) 9810980324

Annie D Raja (National Federation of Indian Women) 9811553633

and if possible, one member each from the All India Agricultural Workers Union and Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

If you require further information at any stage, please contact any member of this working group or write to rozgar@gmail.com. Regular updates will also be posted on the website of the right to food campaign (www.righttofoodindia.org). In case you would like to send banners by post, you can send them to any of the following addresses:

1. Secretariat Right to food campaign 

C/o. A – 16 (basement) Jungpura Extension

New Delhi.

2. C/o. CORD

F – 24 Nizamuddin West 

New Delhi 110 013.

3. National Federation of Indian Women 

1002 Ansal Bhavan,

Connaught Place

New Delhi – 100001.

UPDATE 34: SOS Employment Guarantee

Dear friends,

Perhaps you are used to deleting these updates on arrival, or to scrolling down in a hurry. Please read this one because it deals with a crucial issue – saving the “employment guarantee act” (EGA).

The crisis is explained in the Appendix below – “toothless guarantee” (a note prepared for a press conference held in Delhi yesterday). This note highlights crucial flaws in the latest draft of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Among these flaws, the most destructive is the absence of any time frame for the extension of the Act to the whole of rural India. In fact, the revised Act allows the government to “switch off” the employment guarantee anywhere at any time. Needless to say, this makes a mockery of the fundamental principle of an employment guarantee.

Against this background, this Update is also a sort of appeal to join forthcoming events, especially the country-wide agitations for a full-fledged EGA on 10 December (Human Rights Day) and the display of banners in Delhi on 21 December. Further activities are likely to be planned all over the place during the next few weeks – please consider joining this effort to save the Employment Guarantee Act, if you are not at it already.

The headlines:

1. SAVING THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

2. BANNER DISPLAY IN DELHI ON 21 DECEMBER

3. POSSIBLE FOLLOW-UP MEETING ON 22 DECEMBER

APPENDIX: TOOTHLESS GUARANTEE

1. SAVING THE EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

The Employment Guarantee Act (EGA) is due to be discussed in the Cabinet on 15 December, before being introduced in Parliament sometime between 16 December and 23 December (the last day of the Winter Session). This is a crucial time for action, as the basic flaws of the proposed Act are likely to become harder to reverse after it goes through Parliament (from there it is likely to be sent to a “standing committee”, and to come back to Parliament again during the Budget Session).

This emergency has led to renewed solidarity among organisations committed to the right to work. Forthcoming events include:

(1) Country-wide local action for “employment guarantee and the right to work” on 10 December (Human Rights Day). The highlight of this event is the collection of signatures on banners, demanding the immediate adoption of a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act. Many other actions have also been planned including padyatras, dharnas, public meetings, etc.

(2) Creative display of “banners” in Delhi on 21 December. At least 2,000 banners with signatures are expected from all over the country, including at least one banner from (almost!) every district. See below for further details.

(3) Further lobbying in Delhi throughout this period, and wide consultations about further action in the months ahead.

2. BANNER DISPLAY IN DELHI ON 21 DECEMBER

The response to the signature campaign has been overwhelming and at least 2,000 banners demanding the immediate adoption of a full-fledged EGA are expected to reach Delhi by 18 December. On 21 December, these banners will be used for a creative display of “people’s voices from around the country”. Please consider joining this event in full strength, because the draft National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is likely to be tabled in Parliament very close to that date. A strong display of public demand for a full-fledged EGA could play a crucial role in reversing the impending sabotage of the proposed Act.

At least 100 organisations committed to the right to work are expected to participate in this event, including many national organisations and networks such as the All India Agricultural Workers Alliance (AIAWA), All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW), New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers (NCCRW), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI) – and of course many local organisations from across the country.

Arrangements for gathering the banners in Delhi are in the process of being made. The following have already agreed to act as "collection centres" in Delhi: Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (tel 2656 9773), Delhi Forum (tel 2668 0883/914), Sahmat (tel 2371 1276, 2334 4918), and the secretariat of the Right to Food Campaign (tel 9811087811). Organisations are also welcome to keep their banners and bring them in person to the display event in Delhi. IN ANY CASE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR BANNERS REACH DELHI BY 18 DECEMBER LATEST. In case you would like to post the banners, an updated list of address will be posted in the “Banner campaign” section at www.righttofoodindia.org

A preparatory meeting to plan the details of the 21 December display will be taking place at the office of Mobile Creches in New Delhi on 11 December, from 5 pm onwards. All are welcome. Final details of the programme will be circulated immediately after that. Meanwhile, for further info please send a line to rozgar@gmail.com or call one of the following persons in Delhi: Vivek S. (3091 7116), Rajan Prasad (2371 1276), Subhash Bhatnagar (9810810365), Suneet Chopra (2307 3666), J. Somanathan (2656 9773), Sehba Farooqi (2331 9541).

3. POSSIBLE FOLLOW-UP MEETING ON 22 DECEMBER

The possibility of a follow-up meeting on the morning of 22 December, to discuss further mobilisation in the months ahead, has been floated. This will be confirmed after the preparatory meeting on 11 December.

APPENDIX: “TOOTHLESS GUARANTEE”

(Copy of a note circulated at a press conference held at the Women’s Press Corps, New Delhi, 7 December.)

The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) begins with the following promise: “The UPA government will immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee Act. This will provide a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment to begin with on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum Wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower middleclass household.”

However, the “revised draft” of the Employment Guarantee Act (EGA), prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development, violates this commitment by allowing the government to “switch off” the employment guarantee anywhere at any time. In this and other ways, the “revised draft” undermines the very purpose of the Act:

1. No time-bound extension to the whole of India: The revised draft states that the Act “shall come into force immediately in such areas and for such periods as may be notified and shall be extended to cover all the rural areas of India after evaluating the implementation in the Districts chosen.” In effect, the revised Act guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household but it does not guarantee when and where this will apply!

2. No minimum wage: The MoRD draft says, “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Central Government may fix the rate at which wages shall be paid to the labourers employed under the Programme…”. This gives the government further opportunities to undermine the Programme at any time by setting the wage rate at an arbitrarily low level.

3. Unemployment allowance only for “poor” households: In practice, identification of “poor households” is likely to be based on the “BPL list”, which is known to be highly unreliable. In the absence of any penalty for failure to employ non-BPL households, these households will effectively be excluded from the entire Programme. This would defeat the purpose of the Act, which is based on the principle of “self-selection”.

The revised Act also lacks four crucial provisions that are essential for an effective guarantee:

4. At least 40 per cent of workers employed in a particular Block should be women.

5. The Employment Guarantee Programme should be fully funded by the central government.

6. In the event where the failure to provide employment is due to the lack of devolution of requisite funds from the central government, the payment of unemployment allowances should be reimbursed to the state government by the central government.

7. Panchayati Raj Institutions should be in control of the planning and monitoring of works taken up under the Employment Guarantee Programme. In particular, monitoring agencies should be accountable to elected bodies at all levels and regular social audits should be conducted by the Gram Sabhas.

Taken together, these flaws threaten to reduce the Employment Guarantee Act to a farce, as the revised EGA is neither “National” nor does it “Guarantee” any “Employment” in any meaningful sense of the term.

UPDATE 33 (Part 3): Banner Display in Delhi 21 December

Dear friends,

This is the third part of Update 33. It begins with an update on the "right to work banners". The final display of banners in Delhi is planned for 21 December - a few days before the end of the Winter Session of Parliament.

This is another important milestone in the campaign for an Employment Guarantee Act and all organizations committed to the right to work are invited to participate in full strength. In the remainder of this Update, we catch up with recent events and activities around the country.

Today's headlines:

1. EGA BANNERS TO BE DISPLAYED ON 21 DECEMBER

2. STATE-LEVEL CONSULTATIONS ON EGA CONTINUE

3. BIHAR: RIGHT TO INFORMATION DHARNA IN MADHEPURA

4. CHHATTISGARH: DRAFT LAW TO DE-PRIVATIZE THE PDS

5. MADHYA PRADESH: COMMISSIONERS IGNORED

6. UTTAR PRADESH: COMMISSIONERS' INTERVENTION BRINGS RELIEF

7. REPORTS ON STARVATION DEATHS IN MP AND RAJASTHAN

8. UTTAR PRADESH: "JANATA JAANCH" CAMPAIGN BEGINS

9. MAHARASHTRA: RATION CARDS FOR THE URBAN HOMELESS

10. THIRD STEERING GROUP MEETING

11. NATIONAL FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAMME LAUNCHED

12. AIDWA'S FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION

13. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

1. EGA BANNERS TO BE DISPLAYED ON 21 DECEMBER

The collection of signatures on banners (conveying the demand for an "Employment Guarantee Now") has begun - see earlier Updates. The signature campaign is due to culminate on 10 December, Human Rights Day. After that the banners will be brought to Delhi for a creative display of "people's voices from around the country". If you have missed the initial call for banners, see the "employment guarantee" section of the campaign website, www.righttofoodindia.org

Signatures are being collected all over the country. In Delhi, a signature campaign was launched on 20 November with the support of many eminent citizens and political leaders. At a follow-up meeting the next day, it was decided that the display of banners in Delhi should take place on Tuesday 21 December. This is just two days before the end of the Winter Session of Parliament, and the event could play an important role in making sure that the Act is tabled and passed in an acceptable form. At least 1,000 banners from all over India are expected to be displayed on 21 December. Please consider joining in full strength - at least 1,000 people will be needed just to hold the banners. It is hoped that the display of banners will be followed by a lively cultural event.

If you are collecting signatures in your own area, please make sure that your banners reach Delhi by Monday 20 December at the latest. Banners are already expected from about 300 districts, and the number is growing every day.

2. STATE-LEVEL CONSULTATIONS ON EGA CONTINUE

There have been many useful meetings, conventions and discussions on the draft Employment Guarantee Act in various states in recent weeks. For instance, two conventions on employment guarantee were held in Delhi (19 September and 19 October); academic seminars and workshops on the EGA were held in Hyderabad (National Institute for Rural Development, 4-5 November), in Mumbai (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, 6 November) and Jaipur (Institute of Development Studies, 22-23 November). State-level meetings of activists task place in Ranchi, Bhopal and Jaipur among other places. Employment guarantee and the right to work also figured prominently at the recent convention of the All India Democratic Women's Association

(AIDWA) in Bhubaneswar on 18-20 November. At the AIDWA convetion, a decision was taken to hold a rally on the right to work in Delhi on 10 December (Human Rights Day).

3. BIHAR: RIGHT TO INFORMATION DHARNA IN MADHEPURA

Approximately 3,000 flood-affected people were present at three dharnas organized by Lok Shakti Sangathan on 6-8 October in Madhepura, Lakhnaur and Jhanjharpur blocks of Madhubani district. The activists were demanding transparency in the on-going flood relief and rehabilation work being implemented by panchayats, NGOs and international donor agencies.

Flood-affected people were getting only 20-22 kg of foodgrains though they are entitled to 25 kg. While local officials from Lakhnaur and Madhepur blocks did not show up at the dharna, the concerned official of Jhanjharpur block was present and gave relief-related information to the public. People raised several questions before the government official who assured them that a board displaying the list of distributed materials would be put up soon. For more details please contact Deepak Bharti at deepak1004@sancharnet.in

4. CHHATTISGARH: DRAFT LAW TO DE-PRIVATIZE THE PDS

In Chhattisgarh, concerned citizens have been working closely with the state government to draft a new PDS control order aimed at de-privatizing ration shops across the state. This involves taking ration shops away from private dealers and facilitating "self-management" of ration shops by institutions such as panchayats, self-help groups, mahila mandals, LAMPS, etc. The draft order has many innovative features such as: full disclosure of all records pertaining to the PDS; quota for women in the allocation of licenses for ration shops; representatives nominated by the Advisors to the Supreme Court Commissioners to be on State and District Vigilance Committees; special provisions for destitute households and the homeless, etc. The draft order (available at www.righttofoodindia.org) has been sent to the state Law Department for approval. Feedback on legal, administrative, and other aspects of this order are welcome - please send your comments to birajp@actionaidindia.org.

5. MADHYA PRADESH: COMMISSIONERS IGNORED

Work on an earthen dam site in Limbi village of Badwani district was started on 22 May, 2004 and completed on 2 June, 2004. On 22 August, Dr. N.C. Saxena (Commissioner of the Supreme Court) wrote to the District Collector urging her to ensure that these wages "MUST" be paid immediately. On 10 September, wage payments to the extent of Rs.82,737 and 103 quintals of wheat along with 15 quintals of rice (for 156 person-days of work) had yet to be made.

The unhelpful attitude of the district administration is a cause of concern.

The wages have remained unpaid in spite of a Joint Enquiry Committee visit in mid-June as well as repeated reminders to and promises by the sarpanch, Naib Tehsildar, Zila Parishad, etc. Dr. Mihir Shah, Adviser to the Commissioners, also wrote to the District Collector to request a social audit (which the villagers of Limbi had repeatedly requested) and appoint Shri Rangu Rao as his representative for this purpose. When Shri Rangu Rao met with the District Collector to participate in the proceedings of the social audit, she feigned ignorance, asked pointed questions ("how long will these enquiries go on? Till the government succumbs to the anti-social elements who file these complaints?") and demanded to know what authority Shri Rangu Rao, Dr. Mihir Shah and the Commissioners had in this matter. On

4 September, 2004 when the social audit was finally carried out the gram sewak tried to evade the enquiry by stating that the records were not with him. The evasive behaviour of the gram sewak and the sarpanch made it clear that they had no intention of parting with the records.

This is the first time that the authority of the Commissioners and their Advisers is questioned so blatantly. This precedent could send a wrong signal to the bureaucracy, and it is unlikely that the Commissioners will take it lying down.

6. UTTAR PRADESH: COMMISSIONERS' INTERVENTION BRINGS RELIEF

Activists of New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) working in Sonebhadra district of UP had brought the issue of starvation deaths to the notice of the Commissioners. They estimate that nearly 500 deaths have occurred in the district since the closure of a cement factory due to a lack of food and access to medicines. The Commissioners wrote to the Chief Secretary of UP urging him to look into the matter immediately. As a result, a high level meeting of concerned officials was held in Lucknow and a survey was conducted among the affected families. All affected families were sold 20 kg of wheat and of rice at subsidized prices. At the meeting the government decided to convert all APL ration cards into BPL cards. Besides this, it has been agreed to provide free medical facilities and issue 2000 additional Antyodaya cards for those who are very poor. These developments have brought much hope to the affected families.

7. REPORTS ON STARVATION DEATHS IN MP AND RAJASTHAN

Following recent reports of starvation deaths in Baran district (Rajasthan), a seven-member team consisting of representatives of the Commissioners, doctors, social workers and a journalist surveyed more than 100 households spread over five villages on 25-27 September 2004. The nutrition situation in these Sahariya villages is horrendous. Undernutrition rates (based on body weight) ranged between 27 and 39 per cent among adults, and between 93 and 100 per cent among children. The team estimates that the Sahariyas have been consuming less than 1000 kilocalories per person per day in the past 3 months. According to WHO guidelines, a person requires 850 kilocalories just to maintain a basal metabolic rate without performing any physical activity, and no Sahariya person can afford the luxury of staying idle.

The survey also reveals gross violations of various orders of the Supreme Court. For instance, while the Court had directed that all "primitive tribes" should be given Antyodaya cards, the Government of Rajasthan waited for the bad publicity before these cards were issued. Other orders such as those related to ICDS and mid-day meals are also being violated. The report prepared by this team recommends full and immediate compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court, immediate initiation of relief works, a system of food credit, improved health facilities, and also longer-term strategies to protect the right to livelihood among the Sahariyas.

Meanwhile further news of starvation deaths have poured in - five children are reported to have died of hunger in Badwani (Madhya Pradesh) in September. Even though the Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that these deaths were due to undernutrition, the administration and state government have denied the problem and failed to respond. The District Collector gave a rough reception to local activists when they tried to raise the issue.

Food-related schemes such as mid-day meals, ICDS and the public distribution system are virtually non-functional in the area.

8. UTTAR PRADESH: "JANATA JAANCH" CAMPAIGN BEGINS

In Uttar Pradesh, ASHA has been invoking the right to information to expose corruption and ensure greater accountability in food-related schemes. In Bharawan and Sikroriha blocks of Hardoi district, their efforts led to action being taken against the corrupt Pradhans. However, this victory received a setback due to intervention by the Courts and political pressures. Undaunted by the setback, ASHA activists carried out a Janata Jaanch, where villagers themselves went out to physically verify and measure discrepancies between government records and ground realities. A meeting to share the experiences of this "Janata Jaanch" was organized in Lucknow on 11 September, 2004.

9. MAHARASHTRA: RATION CARDS FOR THE URBAN HOMELESS

In Maharashtra, Anna Adhikar Abhiyan had taken up the issue of access to the public distribution system (PDS) for the urban homeless in Mumbai. After a long struggle (including the intervention of Mr. S.R. Sankaran, Commissioner to the Supreme Court), the activists were successful in obtaining a government order for issuing ration cards the homeless in Mumbai. However, the struggle did not end there, and further agitation was required as the government order did not get implemented. The matter had to be taken to Bombay High Court where the failure of the government to comply with Supreme Court orders was emphasised.

The long-awaited issue of ration cards was finally initiated on 2 October (Gandhi Jayanti), when more than 200 ration cards were issued to the homeless at special functions in different parts of city. Officials like Principal Secretary for Food and Civil Supply Department along with Controller of Rationing participated in this exercise. All the recipients got Antyodaya cards. The government has identified Rationing Kruti Samiti

(RKS) as a nodal agency to facilitate this process in the future. The process adopted by the government for the issue of these cards (including a modified application form) has been simplified as suggested by RKS.

10. THIRD STEERING GROUP MEETING

The third meeting of the steering group of the right to food campaign was held on 30 October 2004. The main focus was on the campaign for an Employment Guarantee Act, especially the forthcoming demonstrations on 10 December. It was resolved that efforts would be made to strengthen this campaign in various ways, e.g. by taking part in the "banner project", launching advocacy efforts in New Delhi, sending delegations to political parties, facilitating state-level conventions on the Employment Guarantee Act, etc. Basic arrangements were also put in place for the "secretariat"

of the steering group, coordinated by Najyoti (with a little help from Vivek until the end of December). Possible activities for Children's Day were discussed and will be further explored with other concerned organisations in Delhi.

10. NATIONAL FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAMME LAUNCHED

On 14 November, the Prime Minister launched the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh. This is supposed to be a precursor to the Employment Guarantee programme which will be introduced after the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is passed in the parliament. The NFFWP has been launched in 150 districts of the country.

11. AIAWA'S FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION

The All India Agricultural Worker's Alliance organized its first national convention in Delhi on 21 November 2004. The Alliance is a national level platform of agricultural workers unions. One of the foremost demands put forward by the Alliance at the convention was for the immediate enactment of a national level Employment Guarantee Act. The convention was attended by about 350 delegates from 15 agricultural workers unions from nine states.

The delegates also decided to collect signatures on banners as part of the on-going the Banner campaign from each of the districts they are working in and to bring them to Delhi on 21 December.

12. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

We end with details of some forthcoming events of interest:

26-28 November: National convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) in Jaipur. Contact: Kavita Srivastava (tel 0141-2706 483, kavisriv@yahoo.com).

28 November: Shiksha Adhikar Diwas. Launch of NAFRE's campaign for Common Schooling and the Right to Work (see previous Update). Contact: Ambarish Rai (amb1857@yahoo.com).

29 November: NAFRE demonstration for Common Schooling and the Right to Work.

Starts at 10 am at Jantar Mantar. Contact: Shaifali Chikermane (09810396677) or Shilpi Malhotra (09810726629).

5 December: All India Peoples Dignity Rally at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi (see above). Contact: Ashok Bharti and Mukul Sharma (worlddignityforum@yahoo.com).

7-8 December: Convention of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity in Delhi.

Contact: Pradip Prabhu (kasht@sancharnet.in).

10 December: Human Rights Day. Country-wide demonstrations for the right to work and "employment guarantee now" (see above).

21 December: DISPLAY OF "EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE NOW" BANNERS IN DELHI.

Details will be circulated a.s.a.p.

UPDATE 33 (Part 2): Recent and Forthcoming Events

Dear friends,

This is the second part of our two-part Update (an additional "Diwali bonus" will follow soon, to accommodate further items that are pouring in). The first part, focusing on "employment guarantee", was sent a few days ago. This part begins with a few items relating to children, in anticipation of Children's Day (14 November). This is followed by an update on employment guarantee, recent developments around the country, and some info on forthcoming activities. As usual, further information can be found on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), or by sending a line to righttofood@gmail.com (please note the new contact address).

Today's headlines:

1. SUPREME COURT ORDERS ON ICDS

2. MID-DAY MEALS UPDATE

3. NAFRE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN ON COMMON SCHOOLING AND THE RIGHT TO WORK

4. EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE UPDATE

5. UPDATE ON THE "BANNERS PROJECT"

6. ALL INDIA PEOPLES DIGNITY RALLY ON 5 DECEMBER

7. RECAP OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS

1. SUPREME COURT ORDERS ON ICDS

Another long Supreme Court hearing on the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) took place on 7 October. To refresh your memory, an earlier order dated 28 November 2001 directed the state and central governments to univeralise ICDS. This means ensuring that there is an anganwadi in every settlement, and that all children under six, all adolescent girls and all pregnant or lactating women are covered. There has been little official action on this front during the last three years, leading the Supreme Court to issue another order in April 2004, reaffirming in no uncertain terms that ICDS is to be universalised as soon as possible. The order gave the central government three months to specify the time frame within which this is to be done. (For details of these and other orders, see the "legal action" section of the campaign website, www.righttofoodindia.org).

As it turned out, it took six months for the government to submit its affidavit, and the content is far from impressive. The affidavit essentially states that requests for 1.7 additional ICDS centres have been received from the state governments, "in pursuance of Supreme Court orders". With 6.6 lakh centres already operational, this marginal expansion would fall far short of the total 14 lakh centres required for universalisation in rural areas alone, as per Supreme Court orders. The laid-back response of the central government is all the more disappointing as the universalisation of ICDS is part of the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government: "The UPA will also universalize the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme to provide a functional anganwadi in every settlement and ensure full coverage for all children." The National Advisory Council has formulated detailed recommendations on this, in line with the Supreme Court orders, but these recommendations are yet to be considered by the government.

On a more positive note, the government's affidavit informs the Supreme Court that the expenditure norms for supplementary nutrition under ICDS will be increased for all user categories with immediate effect. The norms have been increased from 95 paise per day to Rs. 1.9 per day for infants, from Rs. 1.35 per day to Rs. 2.70 per day for severely malnourished infants, and from Rs. 1.15 to Rs. 2.3 per day for pregnant and nursing mothers and adolescent girls.

The campaign for universalisation of ICDS continues, and Children's Day is a good opportunity to reiterate this demand.

2. MID-DAY MEALS UPDATE

The outlook for mid-day meals in primary schools is a little more upbeat than for ICDS. Here again, the Common Minimum Programme includes a specific commitment: "A national cooked nutritious mid-day meal scheme funded mainly by the central government will be introduced in primary and secondary schools. An appropriate mechanism for quality checks will also set up." In contrast with the continued apathy on ICDS, this pledge on mid-day meals has led to some concrete action. A large part of the "Education Cess" (expected to fetch about Rs 5,000 crores per year) has been ear-marked for mid-day meals. Central assistance to the tune of Re 1 per child per day is being provided with effect from 1 September, 2004. These additional resources could substantially improve the quality of mid-day meals, provided that they are treated as additional resources by the states governments, and not used by them as an opportunity to reduce their own contributions.

Central assistance has also enabled some of the state governments that had not initiated mid-day meals (in violation of Supreme Court orders) to make a start. For instance, mid-day meals have finally been introduced in Uttar Pradesh. However, early reports suggest that the implementation of mid-day meals in UP is very erratic and haphazard. According to a report in Indian Express (dated 29 September), even in the city of Lucknow arrangements are yet to be made for utensils, water, cooking sheds or indeed cooking staff. Head teachers were informed just the day before that they were supposed to provide meals and so they carried cooking pots from their own homes, while the children used leaves from trees as bowls. In rural areas, too, there have been serious teething problems, including much resistance from high-caste parents, especially when the cook is a Dalit. These report bring back memories of similar problems in the early days of the mid-day meal programme in Rajasthan and elsewhere. Hopefully they will be overcome, but as of now the situation in UP is quite grim.

As this Update leaves the launchpad, it is learnt that cooked mid-day meals are finally being introduced in Bihar also, based on an expenditure norm of Re 1.64 per child per day. With Bihar and UP on board, the coverage of cooked mid-day meals in primary schools is now close to universal. This is an achievement of sorts, but there are miles to go before we sleep, as the quality of mid-day meals still leaves much to be desired in most states.

3. NAFRE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN ON COMMON SCHOOLING AND THE RIGHT TO WORK

NAFRE (national Alliance for the Fundamental Right to Education) held an important meeting in Hyderabad recently, and decided to launch "a people's campaign for Common School System and constitutional right to work". Excerpts from a recent e-mail:

"We have discussed the proposed Employment Guarantee Act at Hyderabad... In our opinion it is not sufficient to provide 100 days of work to unemployed youth of our Nation. We need to address our economic policy and developmental direction in this regard. It is the right of people and not a matter of beneficient privilege to get employment for livelihood and Govt. must do it.

As you know NAFRE has taken the issue of "right to work" with Education right and Equity in Education. We are going to organize a people's campaign for Common School System and constitutional right for Work. In the first phase of the movement we will observe campaign from 28th of oct. (shiksha adhikar diwas) to 10th of Dec. (human rights day) across the country. Press conferences, seminars, meeting with community people, memorandum submission and rallies will be organized all over country.

At Delhi more than 15 thousand people will come on 29th nov.and make a human chain & will submit a demand letter to govt. We will be concluding the programme on 10th Dec. During the coming budget session more than 30 thousand people are expected to march towards parliament to press the above concerns."

4. EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE: UPDATE

The draft Employment Guarantee Act (EGA) is winding its way through the system (Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Rural Development, other Ministries, Cabinet, etc.). It is expected to reach the Cabinet any time this month, and if all goes well it will be tabled in Parliament in early December - in what form it will reach remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, organizations across the country are getting ready to agitate for the right to work, including a full-fledged EGA, on 10 December (Human Rights Day). As mentioned in Part 1 of this update, a unanimous decision to demonstrate for the right to work on 10 December was taken at a convention on EGA held in Delhi last month (a report on this convention has just been published in Frontline). All-India organisations involved in this effort already include the All India Agricultural Workers Alliance, All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU), All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), among many others - the list is growing fast. The participating organizations are planning to agitate independently or jointly, but in any case on the same date - 10 December. In case you haven't planned anything yet for 10 December, it is not too late!

5. UPDATE ON THE "BANNERS PROJECT"

Among many activities that are planned for 10 December, one is to collect signatures (demanding an Employment Guarantee Act) on banners all over India. After 10 December, the banners will be brought to Delhi and tied together for a creative public display of "people's voices from around the country". An effort is being made to collect at least one banner with signatures from each district - this will also be a useful way of ensuring that the movement spreads to new places.

For effective display in Delhi, it would be useful to have banners of similar size. It has therefore been suggested that old light-coloured saris be used for this purpose. Please consider joining this effort and planning a signature campaign in your own area. In fact, there is no need to wait for 10 December - the collection of signatures can start any day. Further details about this initiative will follow soon (and be posted on the website also). Meanwhile, for further advice and information you can send a line to rozgar@gmail.com or contact any of the following persons in Delhi: Vivek (3091 7116), Rajan (2371 1276), Subhash Bhatnagar (9810810365), Suneet Chopra (2307 3666).

6. ALL INDIA PEOPLES DIGNITY RALLY ON 5 DECEMBER

The following announcement has been received from the World Dignity Forum:

"The World Dignity Forum along with eight mass organisations in India are organising an All India Peoples Dignity Rally at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi on 5 December. There is going to be worldwide demonstrative action on this day by solidarity groups who would like to stand up and mobilize for the sociopolitical inclusion of Dalits and other discriminated sections of the world. For further details please contact Deepa Menon (india@hbfasia.org)." Further details are available in www.righttofoodindia.org/wdignitiyforum.html

7. RECAP OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Much action is on the cards during the next few weeks. Some forthcoming events of interest are listed below:

18 November onwards: National conference of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) in Bhubaneswar.

21 November: National convention of All India Agricultural Workers Alliance in Delhi. Contact: Swapan Ganguly, Convener, All India Agricultural Workers Alliance (tel 033-25380386, fax 033-25384779, e-mail jsk@cal2.vsnl.net.in).

26-28 November: National convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) in Jaipur. Contact: Kavita Srivastava (tel 0141-2706 483, kavisriv@yahoo.com).

28 November: Shiksha Adhikar Diwas. Launch of NAFRE's campaign for Common Schooling and the Right to Work (see above). Contact: Ambarish Rai (amb1857@yahoo.com).

29 November: NAFRE's human chain in Delhi (see above).

5 December: All India Peoples Dignity Rally at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi (see above). Contact: Deepa Menon (india@hbfasia.org).

10 December: Human Rights Day. Country-wide demonstrations for the right to work and "employment guarantee now" (see above).

UPDATE 32: Employment Guarantee Special

Dear friends,

This is another special update on "employment guarantee". Much is happening on that front, with the possibility of an Employment Guarantee Bill being tabled in Parliament next month, but also many possible hurdles ahead. The forthcoming "day of action on the right to work" (16 October) could not be more timely.

Special efforts are being made by various organisations to develop, improve and disseminate campaign material on Employment Guarantee. We would appreciate it if you can let us know of any materials that you have developed, so that we can share our resources widely. Also, please let us know of any activities you may be planning on Employment Guarantee, especially (but not only) on 16 October - just send a line to righttofoodindia@gmail.com

Today's headlines:

1. LATEST MATERIAL ON EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE

2. CONVENTION ON EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE (19 September 2004)

3. FOLLOW-UP CONVENTION ON 19 OCTOBER (Delhi)

4. PLANS FOR THE DAY OF ACTION ON 16 OCTOBER

5. DEMONSTRATIONS IN SONEBHADRA ON 10-11 OCTOBER

6. IMPORTANT PETITION ON EGA

7. STEERING GROUP MEETING ON 30 OCTOBER

1. LATEST MATERIAL ON EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE

Efforts are on to expand the "Employment Guarantee Acts" section of the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), to help local organisations involved in the campaign for guaranteed employment. Campaign material produced by different groups is being added almost every day, and Hindi translations are on the way. Further material is always welcome - just send a line to righttofoodindia@gmail.com with the relevant material attached.

The following are already available on the site:

(1) Draft Employment Guarantee Acts (EGAs), including the draft prepared by the National Advisory Council (NAC) as well as an improved draft dated 1 September 2004.

(2) A two-page summary of the latest EGA, in English and Hindi - particularly useful for public discussions of EGA and local dissemination.

(3) Compilations and summaries of comments received.

(4) Proceedings of the convention on "employment guarantee and the right to work" held in Delhi on 19 September.

(5) A whole range of booklets, pamhplets, leaflets, posters, etc., with more to be added soon.

(6) A growing collection of articles on EGA (already featuring C.P. Chandrasekhar, Jayati Ghosh, Mihir Shah, C. Rammanohar Reddy, P. Vijayshankar, among others).

(7) A petition addressed to the Prime Minister.

Please consider using this material, suitably adapted and/or translated, to spread awareness of the issue in your own organisation or area.

2. CONVENTION ON EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE (19 September 2004)

A lively convention on "employment guarantee and the right to work" took place in Delhi on 19 September. Over two hundred persons affiliated with various trade unions, political parties, social movements, NGOs, academia, the Planning Commission and other institutions participated in the convention. Speakers in the opening plenary included Prabhat Patnaik, Nikhil Dey, Abhijit Sen, B.N. Yugandhar, Tapan Sen, Ashim Roy, Anand Kumar, N. P. Sami, Suneet Chopra, Shankar Singh, Mariam Dhawale, Aruna Roy, Jairam Ramesh, Pradip Prabhu, Gawali, Sandeep Dixit, Sehba Farooqi, Tularam Sharma, Madhuri Krishnaswamy, Roma, Kavita Srivastava, Siddharth Varadarajan, Anuradha Talwar, among others. The dominant theme of the presentations was a strong commitment to united action for an Employment Guarantee Act.

Draft proceedings of the convention are available on the campaign website (http://www.righttofoodindia.org/rtowork/egaconvention.html), along with the list of participants and related information.

3. FOLLOW-UP CONVENTION ON 19 OCTOBER (Delhi)

A follow-up convention is planned for 19 October 2004, also in Delhi. Representatives of the major political parties will be invited to clarify their party's stand on the proposed Employment Guarantee Act, and to share any concerns they may have. Confirmed speakers so far include Sitaram Yechury (CPM), D. Raja (CPI), Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Ashok Gehlot (Congress), Jayati Ghosh, Suneet Chopra, Arundhati Roy, Prabhat Patnaik, Aruna Roy, among others.

This convention, convened by SAHMAT, will take place at the Constitution Club (Rafi Marg), from 3 pm to 6 pm. All are cordially invited - please consider attending this important event. For further details, please contact Rajan at SAHMAT (tel 2371 1276), Smita Gupta (smitajee@yahoo.com, tel 2618 5918) or Navjyoti (navjyoti@hotmail.com, tel 9811087811).

4. PLANS FOR THE DAY OF ACTION ON 16 OCTOBER

Demonstrations for an Employment Guarantee Act are expected to be held in many places on 16 October (World Food Day), as planned at the Bhopal convention last June. Some organisations have decided to demonstrate on other days, close to 16 October, to suit local conditions. Further information will be circulated before 16 October, and posted on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org). A sample of expected activities follows:

(1) In Rajasthan, various organisations active in Akal Sangharsh Samiti are planning "symbolic applications for work" at Panchayat, Block and District headquarters. People will present themselves at the administrative offices and demand to be registered for employment. This will be accompanied by street theatre, songs, distribution of pamphlets and other means of reaching out to the public and building up further support for an Employment Guarantee Act.

(2) In Madhya Pradesh, a broad coalition or organisations is planning to conduct local meetings on 16 October to spread awareness of the Employment Guarantee Act and mobilise public support. For this purpose, a list of common "non-negotiable demands" has been prepared at a recent meeting held in Bhopal (see www.righttofoodindia.org/data/eganonnegotiablesmp.doc). After local meetings, groups will proceed to submit a memorandum demanding the immediate adoption of an EGA. Rallies will also be organised to demand transparency in employment programmes. At the state level, a memorandum will be given to the Chief Minister and press conferences will be organised on October 14 and 17. For further information, please contact the organisations that participated in the planning meeting: BGVS (asham_200@yahoo.com), Jagrit Dalit Adivasi Sangathan (madhuri93@rediffmail.com), CITU, CPIM, AIDWA, SOPAN, Sampark, Vigyan Sabha, People's Research Society, ActionAid (sachinecasrg@hotmail.com), Sopan, Insurance Employees Association, Parhit, Centre for Integrated Development, Spandan, Baiga Mahapanchayat, Samhit Vikas Samiti, Debate, Muskan, NIWCYD, Bachpan, Sangini.

Apart from this joint action on 16 October, several organisations in Madhya Pradesh are planning further action independently. Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) will take up large-scale mobilisation at all levels from the Panchayat to the State. The campaign plan includes mass education about the Act and mobilisation in support of Employment Guarantee, including public meetings at all levels. Mass printing and dissemination of posters and pamphlets on Employment Guarantee is also being planned.

(3) State conventions on EGA are expected to be held in various states either on or around 16 October. A state convention has already been held in Jaipur on 29 September, and another one is to be held in Bhopal on 16 October.

(4) Paschim Banga Khet Majdoor Samity (PKBMS) and other organisations in West Benagl have planned a series of activities in the run-up to the day of action on 16 October. This month-long programme of activities started with a well-attended state convention on 22 September 2004. A postcard campaign has been started, with messages to the Prime Minister demanding the immediate adoption of an Employment Guarantee Act. More than 3,000 have already been sent from five districts of West Bengal. Shramjivi Mahila Samity along with PKBMS are organising delegations in about twenty-five blocks covering six districts. The delegations will continue between October 4-10, 2004. In these districts, twelve-hour dharnas will be organised on different dates between 8 and 15 October 8-15, and a 24-hour state-wide dharna will be organised on 15 October. All programmes will involve delegations to the block authorities and appeals to the Prime Minister.

(5) National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) is taking up the cause of women's employment. NFIW has pointed out that the Common Minimum Progarmme (CMP) promises guaranteed employment for "100 days per household per year" only. The formulation of guarantee at the household level is likely to lead to the marginalisation of women in the employment guarantee programme. NFIW has demanded that the guarantee should be provided to each individual; and if the guarantee is given to households, there should be effective reservation for women. A dharna was organised on this issue on 3 October at Delhi and a letter has been sent to the Prime Minister demanding at least 40 % reservation for women (in the current scheme of things). A convention prominently featuring employment guarantee will be held with secretaries from all states on 29 October, to be followed by widespread mobilisation at the state-level.

(6) A state consultation on EGA is being organised by National Council for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) in Andhra Pradesh. The consultation is expected to have widespread participation from Dalit organisations, trade unions and other civil society organisations. For further details please write to ncdhr@vsnl.com or geosudha@yahoo.co.in

(7) Further mobilisation is expected in other states around the day of action. We hope to bring you further news in the next update that is coming soon.

5. DEMONSTRATIONS IN SONEBHADRA ON 10-11 OCTOBER

The following message has been received from Sonebhadra (Uttar Pradesh): "Following reports of starvation deaths in Jharkhand are similar reports from Uttar Pradesh which is also experiencing a drought. Here too the government does not seem to have any serious plan of action other than making statements. Even if the Employment Guarantee Act does get implemented, initially it will cover only 150 districts in the country. This means that for many areas the battle for employment security is a long one. In Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, starvation deaths have been occurring since last few years, independently of the drought: it is a result of the snatching of sources of livelihood (especially land and forest resources) from people. On 9 October, 2004 Kaimur Kshetra Majdoor Kisan Mahila Sangarsh Samiti, a local organization, will hold a big demonstration in Robertsganj, Sonebhadra on the issue of the right to work, PDS system, providing food to all, combined with the issue of restoration of their land and forests. All are invited." For further details, contact Roma at romakdeep@rediffmail.com

6. IMPORTANT PETITION ON EGA

A petition on EGA has been prepared and circulated by Jayati Ghosh, Smita Gupta and Vikas Rawal of Jawaharlal Nehru University. The petition is addressed to the Prime Minister and demands the immediate adoption of an Employment Guarantee Act. Please consider taking the time to add your signature to this important petition - it just takes a few clicks of the mouse (see http://www.petitiononline.com/ega04/petition.html).

7. RIGHT TO INFORMATION CONVENTION (8-10 October 2004)

Employment guarantee and the right to work will be prominent themes at the forthcoming national convention on the people's right to information (Delhi, 8-10 October). Special slots on employment guarantee are expected in the plenary sessions, and a workshop on "right to information and employment guarantee" is also expected.

Over 500 participants are expected from all over India, and another 500 or so from Delhi itself. The convention will start with a national public hearing on the public distribution system (PDS) on 8 October at R.K. Puram. A series of thirty workshops will be organised in the next two days on the application of right to information in diverse fields such as displacement, environment, corporate responsibility, PDS, nuclear issues, etc. On 9-10 October, the convention will be held at the Arts Faculty, Delhi University, north campus. For further details please contact Arvind (20033988), Vishaish (9818345439), Sowmya (9818505853), Anjali (9811558533), Nikhil/Salim (9810884111) or Venkatesh (9871050555) or ncpri2004@yahoo.co.in

8. STEERING GROUP MEETING ON 30 OCTOBER

The next meeting of the steering group of the right to food campaign will be held on 30 October 2004 (2 pm to 6 pm at "HRLN conference room", A 16 Jungpura Extension, New Delhi.]). The proposed agenda includes consolidation of the campaign for an Employment Guarantee Act, further action on the public distribution system, preliminary discussion of the next "convention on the right to food and work", and other issues that may be raised by the participants. This is an important meeting, as the organisational frame of the campaign seems to be loosening at a time when the need for effective action is greater than ever. A special appeal for active participation in this meeting of all concerned organisations.

UPDATE 31 (Part 2)

CAMPAIGN BOUNCES BACK

Dear friends,

Many of us needed a little nap after the fever of the Bhopal convention (11- 13 June 2004), but campaign activities are expected to bounce back during the next few weeks. The main object of this update is to appraise you of recent developments and forthcoming activities.

Today's headlines:

• 1. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BHOPAL CONVENTION

  2. KEY DECISIONS OF THE CONCLUDING PLENARY

  3. STEERING GROUP TO MEET ON 22 AUGUST

  4. DRAFT EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT TO BE RELEASED

  5. FIELD SURVEY OF ICDS

  6. STARVATION DEATHS IN WEST BENGAL AND MAHARASHTRA

  7. WEBSITE RENAMED AND UPGRADED

The Bhopal convention on the right to food and work (11-13 June 2004) was a great opportunity to share experiences and ideas. About 500 activists from 120 organisations joined the convention from all over the country and spent three days in lively discussions, workshops, cultural activities, and a public rally. Crucial themes included the right to work, land rights, the public distribution system, children's right to food, Dalit perspectives, gender issues, the agricultural crisis, and legal action for the right to food, among others. The proceedings of the sessions are being processed and will be posted in the new campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org) as soon as possible, in English and Hindi. Meanwhile, a crash account of the event is available in the last issue of Frontline (see http://www.flonnet.com/fl2114).

The run-up to the convention was also an opportunity for different organisations to prepare udpated material such as booklets, posters, pamphlets, etc. There were thick crowds around the stalls where this material was displayed and the more jazzy items (such as a giant poster on recent Supreme Court orders, prepared by the Human Rights Law Network) went like hot cake. If you are interested in getting hold of some of this campaign material, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in

The convention was not just gup-shup (idle talk). Several workshops and plenaries concluded with key decisions about future activities. More on this in the convention proceedings and future updates. Meanwhile we proceed with a brief account of some of the decisions taken at the concluding plenary.

KEY DECISIONS OF THE CLOSING PLENARY

The closing plenary was held on 13 June. The discussions had to be concise if not hurried since the participants had to leave for a public rally as early as 10.30 am. Some issues, particularly relating to the organisational aspects of the campaign, clearly required further discussion. However a consensus was reached on some key decisions:

A country-wide "day of action on the right to work" will take place on 16 October, 2004 (World Food Day). The key demand is immediate adoption of a National Employment Guarantee Act.

The participating organisations also agreed to join forces for a week to assert children's right to food, with a special emphasis on the universalisation of ICDS. This week of action is due to start on 14 November 2004 (Children's Day in India), and to culminate on 20 November (Universal Children's Day).

A "land occupation day" will be planned (possibly on 10 December) to take further the issue of land rights. This will be preceded by public hearings on violations of land rights.

A rally on the public distribution system (PDS) to be organised in Delhi.

Further issues and activities that emerged from different workshops will be taken forward by the participants of the respective workshops, and/or the working groups that were formed. For instance, participants at the workshop on "drought and survival" decided to launch an attempt to revise the so- called "Famine Codes" of different states and demand that the revised Codes should be given legal status. Similarly, the workshop on the right to information resolved to put pressure on the government to notify and amend the national Right to Information Act.

On organisational issues, the plenary endorsed a proposal that emerged from two earlier sessions held at the convention. The main points are:

a. A provisional "steering group" will be formed, for a period of one year or so (until the next convention).

b. The steering group will consist of one member from each of the 11 national networks that initiated the Bhopal convention, plus members of the "support group" that are not part of these networks (to ensure some continuity).

c. All organisations represented in Bhopal will be "permanent invitees" of the steering group.

d. The basic role of the steering group is to facilitate the process of mutual support among the organisations involved in the campaign. Specifically, the steering group is expected to: (1) facilitate the next convention; (2) ensure the smooth flow of information within the network; (3) initiate a process of wider discussion of the organisational aspects of the campaign, and prepare a proposal on this for the next convention, and (4) possibly, take up advocacy with the central government.

STEERING GROUP TO MEET ON 22 AUGUST

As a follow-up to the Bhopal convention, an informal meeting took place at the Indian Social Institute in Delhi on Monday 12 July. The meeting was a little chaotic but we did manage to decide that the first meeting of the new "steering group" would take place on Sunday 22 August, probably in Delhi. Further details will be circulated as soon as possible.

DRAFT NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT TO BE RELEASED<

A decision was taken, at the Bhopal convention, to prepare a "draft national employment guarantee act". Some progress has been made on this front, and the draft is due to be released on Friday 16 July with the following public statement:

"We urge the UPA government to immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee Act, as promised in the Common Minimum Programme. To foster public involvement in the formulation of this crucial legislation we invite wide discussion of the enclosed draft Act."

As this Update leaves the launchpad, a drive is on to collect endorsements for this statement. Endorsements have already been received from leading members of many organisations committed to the right to work, including Kashtkari Sangathan, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Communist Party of India (CPI), National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), National Campaign Committee for Unorganized Sector Workers, Unorganised Workers Federation (Tamil Nadu), Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam (Tamil Nadu), Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), National Alliance of People's Movments (NAPM), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Indian National Building Construction Workers' Federation, Khetihar Khan Mazdoor Sangathan (Chittorgarh), among others.

If you are willing to endorse the statement, please send a line to workforall@rediffmail.com by Friday 16 July latest (the latest version of the draft Act is available at www.righttofoodindia.org, in the "right to work" section.)

FIELD SURVEY OF ICDS

A major field survey of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was conducted in May and June 2004, under the auspices of the Commissioners' office. The survey took place in six states: Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Field investigators, mainly volunteers from university colleges, spent six weeks making unannounced visits to anganwadi centres around the country and interviewing the parents of enrolled children. Preliminary results indicate that Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have reasonably good anganwadi centres and are already quite close to universal coverage of children under six. At the other extreme, the ICDS programme in Uttar Pradesh is a resounding flop: anganwadi centres are closed most of the time, few services are provided even when the centres are open, and there is rampant corruption from top to bottom. Detailed findings, to be published later this year, will be used to strengthen the campaign for universalisation of ICDS as per Supreme Court orders. If you are interested in this study please send a line to icdsstudy@yahoo.co.in

STARVATION DEATHS IN WEST BENGAL AND MAHARASHTRA

There have been distressing media reports of starvation in West Bengal and Maharashtra in recent weeks. We are pasting a few relevant links below:

http://news.google.co.in/news?hl=en&edition=in&ie=UTF- 8&q=%22starvation+deaths%22+%22west+bengal%22

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=7712 49

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3577361&thesection=news&t hesubsection=world

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july132004/i6.asp

WEBSITE RENAMED AND UPGRADED

For now, the website remains accessible at the old address (www.righttofood.com) also.

Efforts are on to upgrade and update the website in the light of the Bhopal convention. This will take a little while. The "right to work" page is likely to be substantially expanded during the next few weeks, you may wish to keep an eye on it if you are working on this issue.

Recent additions include: new material in the "right to work" page, including a draft National Employment Guarantee Act; a "field report" on starvation in tea estates of Assam and Kerala; and articles by Jayati Ghosh, Utsa Patnaik, Suman Sahai, among others.

UPDATE 31 (Part 1)

MOBILISATION FOR EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE

Dear friends,

This is the first part of a two-part update on recent events and forthcoming activities of the right to food campaign. This part is about the campaign for an 'employment guarantee act' – things are moving fast on that front. The second part will follow in a few days, with a rainbow account of other activities.

The new 'steering group' of the right to food campaign (formed at the Bhopal convention last June) held its first meeting on 22 August. A brief report on this follows in part 2.

Meanwhile, today's headlines:

1. Employment Guarantee Act drafted

2. Deliberations of the National Advisory Council

3. Forthcoming convention in Delhi (19 September)

4. Day of action for the right to work (16 October)

5. State convention in Jaipur (28 September)

6. Social security for unorganised workers

1. Employment Guarantee Act drafted

One outcome of the workshop on 'the right to work' in Bhopal was a decision to work on a draft Employment Guarantee Act (EGA). Following on this, a draft EGA for rural areas was prepared by a six-member working group, building on earlier work by Akal Sangharsh Samiti and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan, as well as on Maharashtra's experience. The draft was released for public discussion on 16 July 2004, with an appeal endorsed by more than 100 active members of organisations committed to the right to work. This draft is on the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), in the new section on 'Employment Guarantee Acts'.

Also on the website, you will find:

(a) The 16 July appeal and a list of endorsements

(b) A summary of 'comments received so far'.

(c) An alternative draft (known in some circles as the 'comprador draft') prepared by the National Advisory Council. This draft incorporates many useful suggestions received after 16 July, but it also restricts the guarantee of employment to '100 days per household per year', in line with the government's Common Minimum Programme. Note however that this is only an initial cap, and that the NAC draft includes explicit provisions for the extension of entitlements beyond 100 days per household at a later stage.

(d) An 'explanatory note' with further discussion of the difference between the 16 July draft and the NAC draft.

(e) An improved 'combined draft', essentially adding the positive features of the NAC draft in the 16 July draft, but without the '100 days' cap and other restrictive features. This is the best draft we have so far.

2. Deliberations of the National Advisory Council

The National Advisory Council (NAC), recently formed by the new government, held detailed discussions about the Employment Guarantee Act on 31 July and 14 August. Since the Common Minimum Programme begins with a clear pledge to 'immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee Act', the Council unanimously agreed to recommend that an Act should be passed as soon as possible. However, there were differences on details of the draft Act as well on the time frame within which the Act should be extended to the whole of India. For a brief account of these discussions, see the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org).

At the end of these deliberations, the draft Rural Employment Guarantee Act prepared by the NAC (see above) was forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office. How much weight the NAC's recommendation will carry remains to be seen. The Common Minimum Programme clearly states that the UPA government will adopt an EGA, and this commitment has been reiterated on several occasions by the Prime Minister. On the other hand, there is no lack of opposition to the Employment Guarantee Act in the corridors of power. Overcoming this opposition is likely to require a strong and united campaign for a full-fledged Employment Guarantee Act.

3. Forthcoming convention in Delhi (19 September)

The idea of holding a convention on 'employment guarantee and the right to work' has been in the air for some time. It was discussed again at the first meeting of the steering group of the right to food campaign on 22 August, where a decision was taken to hold the convention in Delhi on Sunday 19 September. The 'invitation' is reproduced below (please consider circulating it within your organisation, after translation in local language if necessary):

INVITATION

A one-day convention on 'employment guarantee and the right to work' will be held in Delhi on 19 September 2004. All organisations committed to the right to work are invited to participate.

This event is a follow-up of the recent convention on the right to food and work, held in Bhopal on 11-13 June. The principal aim of the convention is to consolidate the growing momentum for the immediate adoption of an Employment Guarantee Act (EGA), and to discuss the essential features of an acceptable EGA. Other aspects of the right to work, such as social security for unorganised workers, are also on the agenda.

The convention is part of a series of events and activities planned in preparation of a nation-wide 'day of action for the right to work' on 16 October, another offshoot of the Bhopal convention. It is hoped that similar discussions of the proposed Employment Guarantee Act will be held at the state level, and locally, during the next few months.

An informal 'programme committee' has been formed and will be meeting on 5 September to plan the details of the convention. If you have any suggestions in this regard, please send a line to workforall@rediffmail.com or contact any member of the programme committee (Ashim Roy, Babu Mathew, Jayati Ghosh, Jean Dreze and Roma).

The venue is likely to be either Constitution Club or the Indian Social Institute. For confirmation please check www.righttofoodindia.org closer to the event. You can also find further background material, including draft "Employment Guarantee Acts", on the same website.

UPDATE (5 September): The programme commitee met on 5 September and the proposed programme of the convention is as follows:

9.30-10.00 Registration

10.00-11.00 Opening plenary: (1) Two introductory presentations on the right to work. (2) Presentation of the draft EGA. (3) Summary of comments received. (4) Presentation on financial implications of EGA and the government's policy.

11.00-1.00 Short presentations by political parties and social movements: their position on EGA and proposals for mobilisation.

2.00-4.00 Parallel sessions: (1) The draft EGA. (2) Financing of EGA. (3) Mobilisation for EGA. (4) Wider aspects of the right to work.

4.00-6.00 Closing plenary: Further mobilisation for EGA in the next few months.

4. Day of action for the right to work (16 October)

The 19 September convention is partly a springboard for the 'day of action for the right to work' on 16 October, planned at the Bhopal convention last June. A series of activities are expected on 16 October itself - dharnas, rallies, yatras, public hearings, and more. Further details of these activities will follow in due course. A special page on '16 October' is also being added to the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.org), in the section on the right to work. Regular updates will be posted there.

5. State convention in Jaipur (28 September)

It is hoped that many state-level as well as local conventions/discussions/debates on 'employment guarantee and the right to work' will be taking place during the next few months.

In Rajasthan, Akal Sangharsh Samiti is planning a state-level convention in Jaipur on 28 September. The main purpose is to discuss the draft Employment Guarantee Act, and activities for 16 October (day of action for the right to work).

6. Social security for unorganised workers

'Guaranteed employment' is only one aspect of the right to work. Other aspects include minimum wages, social security for the unorganised sector, the promotion of labour-intensive technology, and the need for employment-oriented economic policies. There is a growing interest in some of these issues within the right to food campaign, particularly social security for the unorganised sector. This issue is likely to be on the agenda of the 19 September convention in Delhi.

It was also discussed at the 'National Meeting of Unorganized Sector Workers' (July 14-15, 2004) convened by National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers (NCCRW) and Indian Social Institute, Delhi. Over 250 representatives from eleven States participated, including the representatives of construction workers, fishermen, tailors, agricultural labourers, domestic workers, embroidery workers, rag pickers, railway contract labourers and others. Major demands of the meeting include: (1) enacting a comprehensive legislation on unorganised labour (2) right to work, living wages, housing, education, health and child care to be made fundamental rights (3) spending at least 3% of GDP on social security for the unorganized workers (4) cancellation of the contract given to ADB to evolve a pension scheme for unorganized labour.

For further details of these meetings, and forthcoming activities, please contact Subhash Bhatnagar at nmpsdelhi@sify.com or ncccl@vsnl.net.

UPDATE 30

(May 31, 2004)

Dear friends,

There has been no lack of drama in Delhi during the last few weeks, with three marathon hearings on the right to food in the Supreme Court, the formation of a new government, and feverish preparations for the national convention on the right to food and work (Bhopal, 11-13 June). This Update includes an item on each of these topics, and concludes with a brief account of a recent public hearing on the right to health care in Pune district.

If you are planning to attend the national convention on the right to food and work next week in Bhopal, please remember that all participants are expected to liaise with the logistics committee in advance of the convention. This is important to avoid a big jam: the venue can only accommodate 400-500 participants. For contact details see item 2 below, and/or the Convention page of the campaign website (www.righttofood.com).

Today’s headlines:

1. SUPREME COURT ISSUES SWEEPING ORDERS ON CHILD NUTRITION

2. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK (11-13 June)

3. FOOD ISSUES IN THE "COMMON MINIMUM PROGRAMME"

4. MAHARASHTRA: PUBLIC HEARING ON RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE

1. SUPREME COURT ISSUES SWEEPING ORDERS ON CHILD NUTRITION

The Supreme Court held three marathon hearings on 20 April, 27 April and 29 April respectively. The hearings focused mainly on mid-day meals and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Each hearing concluded with far-reaching orders (see www.righttofood.com for full details).

During the first session on 20 April, 2004 the Supreme Court reviewed the state of school meals around the country and passed sweeping orders for the accelerated provision of nutritious mid-day meals in all primary schools. The hearing built on a series of reports prepared by Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran, Commissioners of the Supreme Court in charge of monitoring orders relating to the right to food. The reports document extensive violations of earlier Supreme Court orders calling for the provision of cooked mid-day meals in all primary schools. These range from complete failure to initiate mid-day meals in some states (notably Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) to partial implementation in many others. Some state governments tried to counter these charges, but their rambling pleas did not carry much weight against the massive evidence accumulated in the Commissioners’ reports.

Calling this a matter of "extreme anguish", the Supreme Court passed a firm order directing all state governments to universalize mid-day meals in primary schools on a priority basis: preferably at the beginning of the coming school year, and in any case no later than September 2004. Compliance reports are to be submitted in early September by the Chief Secretaries, who will be held personally responsible for any lapses.

The Supreme Court also took the central government to task for doing very little to facilitate the universalisation of mid-day meals. Referring to the Prime Minister’s recent statement (15 August 2003) that cooked mid-day meals would soon be extended to Class 10 as a national programme, the Court directed the central government to submit concrete proposals to this effect within two months. The central government was also directed to contribute to the recurrent costs of mid-day meals, as recommended by the Abhijit Sen Committee report.

Related directions include the continuation of mid-day meals during holidays in drought-affected areas, priority appointments of Dalit cooks, upgrading of infrastructural facilities for mid-day meals, and tighter monitoring.

In follow-up hearings on 27 and 29 April, the Supreme Court reviewed the status of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). After lengthy deliberations, the Court essentially accepted the petitioner’s demand that ICDS should be "universalized", in the sense that ICDS services should be made available to all children aged 0-6 and other eligible groups (e.g. pregnant and lactating women). In particular, this calls for the provision of a functional anganwadi in every habitation. The Court directed the Government of India to submit an affidavit within 8 weeks, clarifying the time frame within which ICDS services would be extended to the country’s 14 lakh habitations. Further, existing and sanctioned anganwadis are to be made functional by 31 June and should function for 300 days in a year. These matters will be reviewed by the Supreme Court in August-September.

For the full text of the orders, see the campaign website (www.righttofood.com). Please note that these orders also cover other important matters such as the doubling of food and cash allocations for employment generation programmes and a ban on the discontinuation of social security programmes without prior approval of the Court.

2. NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

Preparations are in full swing for the national convention on the right to food and work, to be held in Bhopal on 11-13 June. For details of the convention, including the programme, see the "Convention" page of the campaign website (www.righttofood.com). Summary details are given below for those who are short of time.

VENUE: Gandhi Bhavan, Bhopal (for directions see website).

PARTICIPATION: About 400-500 activists working on the right to food and work are expected from all over the country.

PROGRAMME: The convention will start at 10 am on 11 June with an opening "plenary". This will be followed by three sessions of 4-5 parallel workshops and a closing plenary. A cultural programme is scheduled for the evening of 12 June, and a public rally for 13 June (starting at 10 am).

THEMES: Twelve broad themes have been identified for the parallel workshops: (1) The right to work and livelihood; (2) The public distribution system; (3) Legal action for the right to food and work; (4) Social security and marginalised communities; (5) Children's right to food; (6) Dalit perspectives; (7) Perspectives of indigenous communities; (8) Women's perspectives; (9) Land rights and food sovereignty; (10) Agriculture and trade; (11) Right to food and right to information; (12) Drought and Survival.

COSTS: The workshop is being organized on a shoestring budget, without institutional funding. All participants are expected to bear their own travel costs. Subsistence costs will be met from a "registration fee" of Rs 100 per person for three days (with exemption for those who can’t afford the fee). Simple accommodation will be provided at Gandhi Bhavan itself.

REMINDER: Because of the shortage of space, all participants are expected to liaise with the logistics committee in advance. You can do this by sending a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in or contacting any member of the logistics committee. The members are: Asha Mishra (asham_200@yahoo.com, tel 9826379553), Kavita Srivastava (kavisriv@yahoo.com, tel 0141-2706 483), Vivek S. (vivekdse@vsnl.net, tel 011-3091 7116) and Rajeev Singh (rajeevsonline@yahoo.com, tel 9811185846).

3. FOOD ISSUES IN THE "COMMON MINIMUM PROGRAMME"

The new government’s "common mimimum programme" (CMP) includes some important items relating to the right to food. Selected excerpts follow:

(1) EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE: "The UPA Government will immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee Act. This will provide a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment, to begin with, on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower-middle class household. In the interim, a massive food-for-work programme will be started."

(2) MID-DAY MEALS: "A national cooked nutritious mid-day meal scheme, funded mainly by the Central Government, will be introduced in primary and secondary schools. An appropriate mechanism for quality checks will also be set up."

(3) ICDS: "The UPA will also universalise the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme to provide a functional anganwadi in every settlement and ensure full coverage for all children."

(4) PDS: "The UPA Government will strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS), particularly in the poorest and backward blocks of the country, and also involve women's and ex-servicemen's cooperatives in its management. Special schemes to reach foodgrains to the most destitute and infirm will be launched. Grain banks in chronically food-scarce areas will be established. Antyodaya cards for all households at risk of hunger will be introduced."

It remains to persuade the government to put these good intentions (and more) into practice

4. MAHARASHTRA: PUBLIC HEARING ON THE RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE

As part of the Right to Health Care campaign, Jan Arogya Abhiyan (JSA Maharashtra) organised a public hearing on government health care facilities at Saswad (Pune district) on 11 May 2004. The hearing was organised by various members of JSA including MASUM, Rachana Trust, Chaitanya, FRCH and CEHAT. The aim of the public hearing was to highlight and address the deteriorating public health services that are crucial for the rural population and patients who cannot afford private health care.

The hearing was well attended: women dominated the 300-strong audience that attended the programme. Dr. Anant Phadke and Ms. Jaya Sagade of ILS Law College, Pune attended the hearing as panelists and the Additional District Health Officer (ADHO) of Pune district, doctors and medical officers from neighbouring rural hospital and PHCs were present as government representatives for this programme.

The main focus of the public hearing was the presentation of a report based on a survey of government health facilities in 8 talukas of Pune district. The survey covered three aspects of government facilities: availability of staff, of equipment and of services. On all three counts, the report painted a dismal picture. Staff posts, ranging from doctors (especially lady doctors) to lab technicians and drivers are lying vacant or have not been sanctioned. There are no toilets in some health centres, and where toilets exist, there is no water supply. Erratic supply of electricity means vaccines cannot be stored properly. PHCs are unable to provide basic services such as deliveries, snakebites, immunization (e.g. a child had to pay Rs. 3000 at a private hospital for ORS because the PHC could not help him). Further, people are charged for facilities that are supposed to be free (e.g. deliveries), patients are not treated respectfully by the staff and doctors (a woman who was in pain because the anaesthesia had worn off by the time the operation started was hit to keep her from screaming).

The ADHO while admitting that the situation was dismal, responded by citing the lack of adequate funds as the main cause. He suggested that people raise these issues at all levels starting with village health committees. The panelists, on the other hand, highlighted the fact that lack of funds was not an acceptable argument. As one of them pointed out, the lack of adequate health care threatens people’s Right to Life to which they are entitled by the Constitution. The ADHO was requested to arrange for more funds and at the same time issue instructions to ensure that people are not treated badly at health centres.

Special Update: Two important announcements

(March 31, 2004)

Dear Friends,

This short, special update contains two urgent announcements: one regarding a forthcoming convention on the right to food and work (11-13 June 2004), and one regarding election-related communication material.

Please consider circulating these announcements within your own area or network, after translation in local language if necessary. Swift and wide circulation of the first announcement is particularly important to enable grassroots organisations around the country to participate in the proposed convention.

NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK 

(11-13 June 2004)

A national convention on the right to food and work will be held on 11-13 June 2004, tentatively in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). Organisations committed to the right to food and work are expected to join from all over the country. The main purpose of this convention is to share experiences of grassroots action for the right to food/work, and to plan future activities. This is also an opportunity to address the organisational issues that arise in building coordinated action for the right to food and work.

This will be an action-oriented event, with plenty of discussion groups, training workshops, cultural activities, and more. It is a unique chance for persons working on the right to food to meet like-minded people from all over India and learn from each other. Potential issues for discussion include guaranteed employment, the public distribution system, mid-day meals, land rights, and judicial action for the right to food and work, among others.

This convention is a follow-up of earlier discussions held at the World Social Forum in Mumbai (January 2004). It is facilitated by the support group of the �right to food campaign�, in collaboration with several country-wide networks such as the National Alliance of People�s Movements (NAPM), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), All India Democratic Women�s Association (AIDWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers (NCCRW) and People�s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

The convention is being organised on a shoestring budget. All participants are expected to bear their own travel costs, and may be asked to contribute to subsistence costs, if necessary. Other costs will be met through voluntary donations with no strings attached.

If you are keen to participate, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in or get in touch with any member of the �coordination team�. Contact details for the coordination team, and the confirmed venue of the convention, will be circulated soon and also posted on the website of the right to food campaign (www.righttofood.com).

ELECTION-RELATED MATERIAL AVAILABLE

A wide range of communication materials (posters, pamphlets, poems, etc.), prepared in anticipation of the forthcoming elections, has been posted on a temporary website (http://counterpropaganda.tripod.com). There is a special focus on countering the government propaganda on food- and employment-related issues. Further materials on other issues of importance including communalism, child rights, etc. are also available. Feel free to use this material in your own area, with or without modification. A CD with printable materials is available on request (just send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in).

This effort is an outgrowth of a meeting of Right to Food Campaign activists at Mumbai on 20 January 2004. A follow-up meeting was held in Bhopal on 21-22 February 2004 to prepare posters and other campaign materials. The �Bhopal materials� have been improved and augmented with materials from other sources.

(REMINDER: TheResi stance event convened by Campaign for Democratic India will be taking place in Delhi on Sunday 4 April. For details see http://counterpropoganda.tripod.com/april4.htm.)

UPDATE 29

SUPREME COURT CRACKS THE WHIP; BHOPAL CONVENTION (11-13 June)

Dear friends,

Plans for the national convention on the right to food and work (Bhopal, 11-13 June) are making good progress and we start with an update on this. This is followed by a report on the latest Supreme Court hearing, a little tour of recent activities around the country, and an update on election-related materials.

The headlines:

1. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK (BHOPAL, 11-13 June)

2. SUPREME COURT CRACKS THE WHIP ON MID-DAY MEALS

3. BIHAR AND JHARKHAND: COMMISSIONERS' INTERVENTION ON ICDS

4. NAPM BIANNUAL CONVENTION (May 22 – 24)

5. DELHI: ANTI-CORRUPTION STRUGGLE PICKS UP

6. KARNATAKA: LAUNCH OF KARNATAKA ELECTION WATCH COMMITTEE

7. WEST BENGAL: CAMPAIGN ON RIGHT TO WORK

8. MAHARASHTRA: RIGHT TO FOOD AND ELECTIONS

9. MAHARASHTRA: URBAN HOMELESS TO GET RATION CARDS AFTER COMMISSIONER'S INTERVENTION

10. CHHATTISGARH: KORWA MAHAPANCHAYAT

11. UPDATE ON ELECTION-RELATED MATERIALS

1. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK (BHOPAL, 11-13 June)

As mentioned in the last Update, a convention on the right to food and work will be held in Bhopal on 11-13 June (if you missed the initial announcement, see the "Convention (Bhopal 11 – 13 June)" 

section on the website, www.righttofood.com). This convention follows earlier discussions at the World Social Forum. It is facilitated by the "support group" of the right to food campaign, in collaboration with several country-wide networks such as the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), National Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers (NCCRW), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI).

A preparatory meeting, attended by representatives of most of these organisations, took place in Delhi on 11 April, 2004. Briefly, the following decisions were taken:

- The convention will take place at Gandhi Bhawan, Bhopal. Local arrangements will be made by the local branch of Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) in collaboration with the support group of the right to food campaign.

- No institutional funds will be taken for the convention. The support group will make a contribution to the overheads, based on voluntary donations. Participants will bear their own travel and subsistence costs. Simple accommodation arrangements will be made at Gandhi Bhawan itself.

- The programme will be action-oriented and consist mainly of parallel workshops, a few plenaries, and cultural activities. A preliminary list of possible topics for the parallel workshops was prepared. These include the right to work, the public distribution system, food sovereignty, children's right to food, people's access to land and natural resources, legal action for the right to food, Dalit and Adivasi struggles, and gender issues, among others.

- Two working groups were formed, one for logistics and one for the programme. The next preparatory meeting will be held in Delhi on Sunday 16 May, from 3 to 6 pm.

For a more detailed account of the decisions taken at the meeting, see the "Convention (Bhopal June 11-13)" section on the website (www.righttofood.com). Further information about the convention will be posted there from time to time. If you wish to participate in the convention, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in as soon as possible.

2. SUPREME COURT CRACKS THE WHIP ON MID-DAY MEALS

On 20 April, the Supreme Court embarked on a marathon session aimed at settling all the issues raised in recent reports of the Commissioners, Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran. (For the Commissioners' reports, see the "Commissioners' work" section on the website, www.righttofood.com.)

On 20 April itself, the six-hour hearing focused mainly on mid-day meals. In an earlier order (28 November 2001), the Supreme Court had directed all state governments to provide cooked mid-day meals in all primary schools within six months. Three years beyond this deadline, however, the Commissioners' reports document extensive violations of this order. These range from complete failure to initiate mid-day meals in some states (notably Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) to partial implementation in many others.

Calling this a matter of "extreme anguish", the Supreme Court passed a firm order directing all state governments to universalise mid-day meals in primary schools on a priority basis: preferably at the beginning of the coming school year, and in any case no later than September 2004. Compliance reports are to be submitted in early September by the Chief Secretaries, who will be held personally responsible for any lapses.

The Supreme Court also took the central government to task for doing very little to facilitate the universalisation of mid-day meals. 

Referring to the Prime Minister's recent statement (15 August 2003) that cooked mid-day meals would soon be extended to Class 10 as a national programme, the Court directed the central government to submit concrete proposals to this effect within two months. The central government was also directed to contribute to the recurrent costs of mid-day meals, as recommended by the Abhijit Sen Committee report.

Related directions include the continuation of mid-day meals during holidays in drought-affected areas, priority appointments of Dalit cooks, upgrading of infrastructural facilities for mid-day meals, and tighter monitoring. The matter will be reviewed in mid-September.

The next hearing will be held on Tuesday 27 April.

The official text of the order is yet to be released by the Supreme Court (and may not be released until after the next hearing). For an informal and unofficial transcript of the order, see [LINK]. If you are involved in campaigning for mid-day meals, please do not miss this crucial order.

OTHER SUPREME COURT ORDERS

At the same hearing (20 April), the Supreme Court started examining other issues raised in the Commissioners' reports, including employment and wage issues, social security issues, child nutrition issues, the BPL issue, and the public distribution system. Detailed orders are expected after the next hearing on Tuesday 27 April. 

Meanwhile, some specific directions have been issued. Briefly:

1. The order of 2 May 2003 directing the government to double allocations (both cash and grain) for Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana

(SGRY) applies this year also.

2. All records pertaining to employment programmes (muster rolls,

etc.) Should be available for public scrutiny at a cost not higher than the cost of photocopying.

3. Use of labour-displacing machinery on SGRY should not be allowed.

3. BIHAR AND JHARKHAND: COMMISSIONERS' INTERVENTION ON ICDS

Dr. N.C. Saxena (Commissioner of the Supreme Court) visited Bihar again in March 2004 and wrote a brief review "ICDS programme in Bihar". Further to his earlier visit, in December 2003, he found that some action had been taken based on his recommendations. For instance, more centres have become operational and there has been a 30% increase in the recruitment of Anganwadi workers and helpers, with enhanced provisions for their training as well. The state has also increased the number of beneficiaries per centre from 57 to 96 units, and enrolment figures at Anganwadi centres have also improved in a short span of 3 months.

However, as the Commissioner notes, financial allocations for ICDS remain grossly inadequate in Bihar (all the more so as increased enrolment calls for increased budgetary allocations). While orders to buy utensils have been issued, there is no money for this yet. 

Similarly, because only Rs. 25 are allocated for renting premises, children are being packed into very tiny kachha huts, with cooking often taking place in the same room.

Some issues raised earlier by Dr. N.C. Saxena remain unresolved (partly due to lack of funds), e.g. the absence of proper supervision. He has also reiterated the need to publicise and implement various ICDS-related orders of the Supreme Court. For the full report, click here. Other reports by the commissioners based on their field visits, including a recent visit to Jharkhand is available in the website

(www.righttofood.com) in the "Report" heading of the Commissioners section.

Dr. N.C. Saxena also visited Jharkhand in March 2004 and wrote a report on ICDS and other food security schemes in the state (including mid-day meals and the public distribution system). He was startled to learn that no supplementary food been distributed in ICDS centres in Jharkhand for a whole year. The report also highlights many other irregularities in the functioning of ICDS, including non- utilization of over Rs 5 crores allocated for supplementary nutrition, surrendering of 80% of PMGY funds allocated by the centre for child nutrition in the state, inferior quality of grain and frequent complaints of black marketing. The report also contains field notes of visits made by the Commissioner to Anganwadi centres at Bhandarwan, Mangru Toli, Nawati and Chikhor. For a copy of the full report, please send a line to commissioners@vsnl.net

4. NAPM BIANNUAL CONVENTION (May 22 – 24)

The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) is organising its fourth biannual convention on 22–24 May in Anantpur District of Andhra Pradesh. Member organisations from all over the country are expected to participate in this gathering, convened to review recent NAPM activities (including the "desh bachao desh banao" tour around the country, campaigns for land rights and the right to food, agitations against WTO, etc.), and to plan ahead. The right to food and the right to work are also on the agenda. For further details, please write to sansahil@vsnl.net

5. DELHI: ANTI-CORRUPTION STRUGGLE PICKS UP

Parivartans' struggle to eradicate corruption from the public distribution system (PDS) has been covered from time to time in earlier updates. Latest news suggest that this struggle is beginning to bear fruit. In a survey of 82 families conducted in March 2004, Parivartan found that for the first time everyone in the area was receiving their full entitlement of foodgrains at the correct price. 

Earlier, up to 90% of the rations were sold on the black market.

Where all the official checks and balances had failed, the simple process of demanding information and promoting people's vigilance seems to have made a real difference. In two other slums, PDS dealers ran to people's houses with apologies and promises of exemplary behaviours after applications were filed for local PDS records. This has, however, once again highlighted the need to address the systemic problems with the PDS whereby the ration dealers are driven to corrupt practices because of the bribes they have to pay, or due to the low commissions they receive.

Parivartan has also extended its work to social audits of public works in Delhi, including works done with the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds. After a six-month struggle, records of MPLAD expenditure by 70 MPs in Delhi have been obtained and the process of social audit has begun. This includes the first-ever inspection of public roads by local residents, a process normally reserved for some department of the government itself.

To consolidate these efforts and reach out to more people, a "Right to Information Manch" has recently been launched in Delhi. For further information please contact: Arvind Khejriwal at parivartan@parivartan.com

6. KARNATAKA: LAUNCH OF KARNATAKA ELECTION WATCH COMMITTEE

On March 6, 2004, Karnataka Election Watch Committee (KEWC) was launched at the Press Club in Bangalore. This is the latest in a string of "Election Watch" initiatives in various states, launched in anticipation of the imminent parliamentary elections (April-May 2004).

KEWC believes that its real impact will be by pressurizing political parties to reform themselves and drop corrupt or criminal candidates, rather than influencing voter behaviour. As a first step, a letter was sent to all political parties informing them of KEWC activities and asking them to put up cleaner candidates. KEWC is also creating voter awareness of the problem of lavish election spending, and of the link between lavish spending and candidate behaviour (e.g. the pressure to "recover" election money).

KEWC will focus on collecting candidate information from the affidavits and expenditure statements filed by candidates. It will disseminate this information widely through the media (especially the Kannada media), and through grassroots organizations. A helpline (080-

22294445) has also been set up for this purpose, as well as an SMS facility which provides simple Yes/No answers to questions on the criminal records or financial dues of candidates.

For further information, please contact: Trilochan Sastry (trilochans@iimb.ernet.in, ravichandars@vsnl.com, shunori@vsnl.com, lcjain@bgl.vsnl.net.in).

7. WEST BENGAL: CAMPAIGN ON RIGHT TO WORK

Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Sangathan has decided to launch a major campaign for the Right to Work, and for the rights of agricultural workers, ahead of the parliamentary elections in April and May. We shall try to keep track of this initiative in future updates. 

Meanwhile, further information is available from Anuradha Talwar (jsk@cal2.vsnl.net.in).

8. MAHARASHTRA: RIGHT TO FOOD AND ELECTIONS

Organisations involved in the right to food campaign in Maharashtra organized a "People's Manifesto Conference" in Mumbai on 23 March, 2004. The conference was inaugurated by Medha Patkar and chaired by Baba Adhav. It was attended by representatives of the People's Political Front, NAPM, Shoshit Jan Andolan, Jan Arogya Abhiyan, and Anna Adhikar Abhiyan, among other organisations. At the end of the conference, a people's manifesto was drawn up and submitted to all political parties. Activists of the Maharashtra Rationing Kruti Samiti (MRKS) will be taking up these demands with all the candidates in their respective areas. It was also decided to organize such meetings in other parts of Maharashtra.

9. MAHARASHTRA: URBAN HOMELESS TO GET RATION CARDS AFTER COMMISSIONER'S INTERVENTION

Mr. S.R. Sankaran (Commissioner of the Supreme Court) was in Maharashtra in December 2003, when he spent some time with activists of the right to food campaign. Following his visit, he wrote to the Supreme Court and to the State and Central governments about the issue of ration cards to the urban poor and homeless. In response this intervention of the Commissioner, and further pressure from MRKS activists, the State government has issued an order which entitles the urban poor to ration cards even without proof of residence, within a month of applying. How this order will work out on the ground remains to be seen, but it does set an important precedent.

10. CHHATTISGARH: KORWA MAHAPANCHAYAT

There has been a good deal of action in Surguja district

(Chhattisgarh) in recent months, partly reported in earlier updates. 

In a new development (March 2004), nearly 700 Pahari Korwas from 53 villages across 6 blocks came together in the first-ever "Korwa Mahapanchayat" to discuss a range of issues. These included making contacts for future marriages, how they lived in different areas, etc., but also the denial of fundamental rights including the right to food. In spite of being officially classified as a "primitive tribe", the Pahari Korwas get very little from the welfare and development schemes that have been floated in their name. They are among the most disempowered communities in Chhattisgarh, and their living conditions are so poor that their population is declining.

According to Supreme Court orders, all members of "primitive tribes" 

are entitled to Antyodaya cards as a matter of right. This issue has been actively taken up in Surguja, where most Pahari Korwas now have Antyodaya cards (entitling them to 35 kgs of grain each month at highly subsidised prices). Leaders for the Mahapanchayat were elected and plans for further mobilization were chalked out. The Korwa Mahapanchyat also decided to intensify the struggle on right to food issues and to enforce greater accountability in the public distribution system.

11. UPDATE ON ELECTION-RELATED MATERIALS

Further election-related materials have been added to the website set up for this purpose (http://counterpropoganda.tripod.com). This includes more counter-propaganda posters, factsheets prepared by various organisations, a children's manifesto, and a critique of the BJP's "vision document" by disability rights groups. The website will be updated from time to time as we go along, please keep an eye on it if you are involved in any campaign activities related to the forthcoming parliamentary elections (April-May 2004).

UPDATE 28: ELECTIONS SPECIAL

Dear friends,

We are leap-frogging the second part of the preceding update to inform you of some recent developments and forthcoming events of special interest. Specifically, it focuses on initiatives related to the forthcoming parliamentary elections (due to start in mid-April). A new momentum is building up in anticipation of the elections, and we shall try to keep you posted of these activities. Part 2 of the preceding update will follow shortly.

Please keep us posted of any election-related activities you may be planning, and share with us any food-related campaign materials you may be preparing in this connection.

Today’s headlines:

1. DRIVE TO PREPARE ELECTION-RELATED CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

2. FORTHCOMING: PUBLIC HEARING ON HEALTH

3. NAPM ACTIVISTS LAUNCH INTO ELECTORAL POLITICS

4. CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRATIC INDIA

5: FOCUS ON YOUNG CHILDREN

6. WEBSITE UPDATE

1. DRIVE TO PREPARE ELECTION-RELATED CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

Following earlier discussions in Mumbai, about 50 activists from different states met in Bhopal on 21-22 February to work on campaign materials (posters, leaflets, pamphlets, plays, etc.) focusing on the right to food and the right to work, for possible use during the election period. The aim was to draft material that could be later adapted to local circumstances by a wide range of organisations around the country.

The posters etc. reflect the spirit of the “Mumbai statement”, prepared on the basis of a meeting held in Mumbai on 20 January, 2004 (on the sidelines of the World Social Forum). In particular they link the right to food with larger issues such as the need to oppose communalism and authoritarianism. The posters etc. reflect the spirit of the “Mumbai statement”, prepared on the basis of a meeting held in Mumbai on 20 January, 2004 (on the sidelines of the World Social Forum). In particular they link the right to food with larger issues such as the need to oppose communalism and authoritarianism (“our commitment to the right to food is inseparable from our commitment to social justice and democratic values, and implies firm opposition to communalism in any form”). For the full statement, see

DRAFT posters are available on the campaign website (www.righttofood.com), in the new “Parliament elections 2004” section. The text is ‘open to use’ for all citizens’ organisations that have related concerns.

Work is underway to verify the accuracy of data, prepare illustrations and make master copies that could be used to print posters directly. In case you are interested in printing these posters, we can send you a CD with the master copies on request. Please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in for further information.

2. FORTHCOMING: PUBLIC FORUM ON HEALTH (12 March 2004)

Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) is planning to organize a public forum for dialogue on health in Delhi on 12 March, 2004. The forum seeks to bring together health activists from across the country for a dialogue on health care with senior politicians from various national parties. The interaction will be followed by a procession.

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (People’s Health Movement) is a network linking many organizations and individuals working in the area of health care. It came together on the occasion of the People's Health Assembly in 2000, to create a platform that brings together diverse concerns related to Health Care. Activists of JSA have been working closely with the Right to Food Campaign in different states. The ‘Peoples Health Charter’ constituting the JSA affirms: "our inalienable right to comprehensive health care that includes food security; sustainable livelihood options; access to housing, drinking water and sanitation; and appropriate medical care for all; in sum - the right to HEALTH FOR ALL, NOW".

JSA expects the political process in the country to take cognizance of these basic concerns. The dialogue as well as other activities of the campaign for the forthcoming elections in the country will be an opportunity to focus on real concerns of the Indian people. To facilitate a dialogue between citizens’ organizations and political parties on the issue of health, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan is organising a public forum of dialogue on Health Care with political parties.

Date: 12th February, 2004

Venue: Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi - 110 001

Time: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm

For further information, please contact Vandana Prasad at chaukhat@yahoo.com

3. CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRATIC INDIA

At the World Social Form (Mumbai, January 2004), various groups concerned with the growth of communal tendencies in the country got together and decided to launch a campaign during the parliamentary elections. The groups will function under the broad banner of “Campaign for democratic India”. At the preparatory stage, meetings of the campaign have taken place in Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Allahabad and several other towns.

The groups are likely to take up an active campaign at the grassroots level and also take up wide-ranging advocacy efforts. Work is on towards building an ‘alternative agenda’ that includes concerns of the common people of the country today. A meeting will be held in Delhi on 19 March 04 with several citizens’ organisations to build the alternative manifesto. This will be followed by a public meeting on 20 March.

For more details about the campaign please contact Apoorvanand at apoorvanand@rediffmail.com.

5. FOCUS ON YOUNG CHILDREN

FORCES, a network working for children under six years of age, is intensifying its advocacy work in anticipation of the forthcoming elections. The network has been working extensively on ICDS, crèche services, and other issues related to young children. The decision to use the space offered by the elections was taken during a national meeting of FORCES at WSF. For more details about their plans, you can contact forces@vsnl.com.

Indian Alliance for Child Rights (IACR), Pairvi and other organisations are also planning to highlight children’s issues in the run up to the elections. The group will take up a multi-pronged campaign covering grassroots, media, advocacy with parties, etc. The group has analysed the manifestoes of various national parties of the previous polls and have identified gaps from the child-rights angle. A manifesto is being prepared with child-related concerns which will be used for lobbying with the parties. In case you have further queries, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in, we will be happy to relay it to IACR.

7. WEBSITE UPDATE

The website of the right to food campaign (www.righttofood.com) has been updated, and also includes a new section called “Parliament elections 2004”. This space will be used to post campaign materials, fact-sheets, and reports of interest. Currently it contains draft posters that are being prepared for use in the campaign (see item 1 above). The section will be updated regularly in the next few weeks with further materials. Please keep an eye on this new section if you are involved in election-related activities.

UPDATE 27: RECENT AND FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIES

Special Update: Two important announcements

Dear Friends,

This update comes to you after a long break, and we have a long list of events and activities to report. So this update is being sent in two parts. With the elections around, several events are being planned not only within the right to food campaign but also by associated campaigns such as the campaign for the right to health. We anticipate a fair amount of action during the next few months.

We take this opportunity to salute the courage of Sarita and Mahesh, two land rights activists who have done exemplary work in Bihar. They were shot dead on 24 January by the local mafia. We wish to draw your attention to the impending national protest in Patna on 12 February, which includes a rally to Shabdo, the village where Sarita and Mahesh worked. The organisers are counting on a strong turnout not only from Bihar but also from other parts of India. More on this below (see also the new “Sarita and Mahesh” section on the campaign website, www.righttofood.com).

Today’s headlines:

1. MUMBAI: PLANNING FUTURE ACTIVITIES

2. WEST BENGAL: STARVATION ROLLED BACK IN ABANDONED TEA GARDENS

3. KARNATAKA: SOCIAL AUDIT OF SUPREME COURT ORDERS

4. DELHI: FORTHCOMING RALLY FOR THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

5. RAJASTHAN: PDS DEALERS DISRUPT REVIEW MEETING

6. COMMISSIONERS’ UPDATE

7. BIHAR: MURDER OF LAND RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SPARKS PUBLIC PROTESTS

1. MUMBAI: PLANNING FUTURE ACTIVITIES

About 50 activists involved in the right to food campaign met in Mumbai on 20 January, on the sidelines of the World Social Forum and “Mumbai Resistance”, to discuss forthcoming activities. Various activities were proposed in anticipation of the coming parliamentary elections across the country. As a first step, activists from different organisations will gather in Bhopal on 21-22 February to prepare suitable campaign materials (posters, leaflets, pamphlets, etc.). The meeting will be organised at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

The activities that were proposed include: (1) Consolidating our efforts to make the right to food and the right to work central political issues (e.g. through public hearings, lok ghoshna patras, large rallies, seeking commitments from candidates, etc.); (2) Debunking the government’s “feel good” and “shining India” propaganda; (3) Intensifying our campaign for the right to work, including an Employment Guarantee Act but also going beyond that; (4) “Direct action” to assert the right to food and the right to work, such as “self-service” at PDS shops where people have been deprived of their entitlements, and physical obstruction of labour-displacing machinery; (5) Social audits of the implementation of Supreme Court orders on the right to food; (6) Conducting a series of training programmes to enable grassroots organisations to take up right to food/work issues more effectively in their own area.

Also in the light of the forthcoming, there was much discussion of the issue of communalism. There was a unanimous agreement on the need for the campaign to distance itself from all communal and anti-democratic organisations. The draft “statement” prepared at the end of the meeting states the following: “We also discussed the ominous growth of communal and anti-democratic tendencies in the country, and the need to resist them. We all felt that our commitment to the right to food is inseparable from our commitment to social justice and democratic values, and implies firm opposition to communalism in any form. Democracy is premised on the fundamental equality of all citizens. Therefore it is incompatible with discrimination based on caste, gender, religion or other attributes. We appeal to all individuals and organisations involved in the right to food campaign to put these concerns at the centre of their work, during and beyond the forthcoming elections.”

For the full text of the draft statement (yet to be finalised), click here. The statement includes further details of possible activities that could be taken up in the context of the forthcoming elections. If you are interested in obtaining campaign materials at cost price after the Bhopal meeting, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in

2. WEST BENGAL: STARVATION ROLLED BACK IN ABANDONED TEA GARDENS

During the last two years, trouble has been brewing in the tea gardens of West Bengal. Apparently due to a recession in the tea industry, many tea gardens have been abruptly closed, leaving tens of thousands of people at lurch. There have been many recent media reports of extreme hunger and even starvation deaths in the abandoned tea gardens. This prompted the right to food and work campaign of West Bengal to intervene.

The group started with a survey of living conditions in over 12 tea gardens. The house to house survey indicated that death rates had more than doubled since the workers lost their employment. This has been confirmed by data available in local hospitals, and other independent surveys. The food habits of the workers also show drastic changes, with some families consuming levels far below the recommendation of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). The incidence of malnutrition among children is also very high.

In spite of this dire situation, many of the affected families are classified as “above the poverty line” by the recent BPL enumeration. Further the ration shops have been closed, as they used to be run by the management of the gardens. Mid-day meals, for their part, are yet to be initiated by the West Bengal government. To complete the story, even the available SGRY funds have not been utilised in the area.

The right to food network in West Bengal took up these issues with the Commissioners (Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran), and an application was also filed in the Supreme Court. With a little help from the media, these efforts spurred the sleeping government into action. Recent steps taken to address this emergency include the distribution of Antyodaya cards to all permanent workers in the closed gardens; the provision of cooked food in primary schools; and the provision of 15 days of employment per month to the affected workers under SGRY. However, some demands of the campaign are yet to be met, so the struggle continues. For a more detailed report, click here.

3. KARNATAKA: SOCIAL AUDIT OF SUPREME COURT ORDERS

‘Sarvajanika Ahavalu’, i.e. a social audit, is to be organized in Karnataka for the first time on February 9, 2004. The right to food campaign in Karnataka along with REACH and ActionAid India are organizing this social audit, which focuses on the implementation of Supreme Court orders on the right to food (PUCL vs Union of India & Others, 196/2001). There is widespread hunger in the area in the wake of three years of continuous drought, and the campaign group feels that unless effective action is organised the Supreme Court orders may just remain on paper. The process of holding social audits has also been initiated in Dharwad, Chamarajanagar and Davanagere districts, where similar events are expected in the near future.

VENUE: Nandi Bevooru Village, Harapanahalli Taluk, Davanagere District, Karnataka

TIME: 11 am to 4.30 pm

DATE: 9 February 2004

CONTACT NUMBERS: 08398-820017 (G.N. Simha), Harapanahalli; 080-5562335 (Muthappa N.M.), Bangalore; 080-5586682 (Kevin Noronha), Bangalore

Harapanahalli is 7 hours road drive from Bangalore. Nandi Bevooru Village is 16 kms. From Harapanahalli on the Harapanahalli - Hospet Road.

4. DELHI: FORTHCOMING RALLY FOR THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

In anticipation of the forthcoming elections, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (a network of organisations committed to the right to health) is planning to organise a national rally as well as a dialogue with representatives of different political parties. Participants from across the country will gather in Delhi on 4 March 2004 for a string of events aimed at highlighting the dismal condition of health facilities in the country and putting the right to health on the political agenda. Further details will follow in due course, meanwhile interested readers are invited to contact Vandana Prasad (chaukhat@yahoo.com). For further info on JSA, see the network’s website, http://www.sochara.org/Jss/index.htm

5. RAJASTHAN: PDS DEALERS DISRUPT REVIEW MEETING

An eventful public meeting was convened by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) on 31 January 2004 in Kumbalgarh (Rajasthan). This was a follow-up to an earlier public hearing on the public distribution system (PDS), held there in December 2002 (see Update 8). This earlier meeting had exposed rampant corruption in the PDS, and last month MKSS thought that the time was ripe to review the situation. The review meeting’s agenda was to ask government officials, in public, what action had been taken against those who had been implicated in the corruption. Another concern was to find out what difference (if any) the earlier public hearing had made in the area.

The review meeting, held on 31 January, was quite stormy. Angry PDS dealers had formed a semi-circle around the meeting to prevent people from entering the premises. They had also done a good deal of “homework” to derail this effort. For instance, they conducted a “contact programme” with the concerned families and threatened them with dire consequences if they spoke with MKSS activists, or put pressure on them to say that the PDS was working well in their village. In some cases, the dealers took away people’s ration cards lest MKSS should lay their hands on them. At the public hearing the dealers made organised attempts to disrupt the proceedings as soon as PDS issues came up. It is only with the help of the police and the assembled public that the meeting could be held.

A sobering conclusion of this review meeting is that corruption is still in full swing in the area, in spite of the fact that people’s awareness has gone up. The ration cards still show false entries, some dealers continue to keep people’s ration cards, and shops open for just a few days each month (as opposed to 26 months as directed by the Supreme Court). The local administration has promised once again to take action against the errant dealers. What happens on the ground remains to be seen.

6. COMMISSIONERS’ UPDATE

The Commissioners of the Supreme Court, Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran, are continuing their efforts to ensure the implementation of Supreme Court orders. We have already mentioned their intervention in West Bengal (see item 2 above). Another important focus area at this time is Sarguja district in Chhattisgarh.

This intervention followed complaints of non-implementation of the Supreme Court orders in villages of Block Lakhanpur in Sarguja (on this also earlier Updates). In particular it was alleged that Antyodaya cards had not been distributed to families of “primitive tribes” in the area, such as the Pahari Korwas. After the Commissioners intervened, the state government directed the local administration to ensure swift distribution of Antyodaya cards to all Pahari Korwa families. Recent reports suggest that this has indeed been done in the entire Block. However, Antyodaya cardholders are still marooned as the PDS is virtually non-functional in many villages, depriving them of their entitlements. A public hearing is expected to be held in Lakhanpur on or around 24 February.

In a similar vein, the Commissioners responded to a complaint about the absence of mid-day meals in village Pandripani, also in Lakhanpur Block (see earlier updates). Initially, the state government claimed that an enquiry had been carried out, that mid-day meals in Pandripani were doing just fine, and that the complainant had retracted his statement. However, this claim was roundly debunked after further local enquiries and the state government was sent back to the drawing board. According to recent field reports from Sarguja, the local administration is frantically trying to improve the mid-day meal programme not only in Lakhanpur but in the entire district.

The Commissioners have also travelled to several states in the recent months. Mr. Sankaran made visits to Maharasthra and West Bengal, and Dr. Saxena travelled to Bihar to evaluate the ICDS scheme. The Bihar visit led to some positive moves on the ICDS front. For instance, orders have been passed to raise the coverage of Supplementary Nutrition in each anganwadi from 57 to 97 children/mothers, and measures have been taken to ensure quick recruitment and timely payment of anganwadi workers.

For detailed reports on these visits, and further details of the Commissioners’ activities, see the “Commissioners’ section” of the campaign website (www.righttofood.com).

7. BIHAR: MURDER OF LAND RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SPARKS PUBLIC PROTESTS

The brutal murder of Sarita and Mahesh in Bihar (see intro) has sparked nationwide protests. A rally is being organised in Patna on 12 February, with nation-wide participation. The rally will end in Shabdo village where Sarita and Mahesh used to work and lost their lives. It is hoped that this event will act as a springboard for further action, not only to obtain justice for Sarita and Mahesh but also to address the problem of endemic violence and repression in Bihar. For further details, please contact Apoorv Anand at apoorvanand@rediffmail.com

See also the new section “Sarita and Mahesh” on the campaign website (www.righttofood.com). This is a provisional section, added on an emergency basis to support these efforts.

SPECIAL UPDATE: EVENTS IN MUMBAI (JANUARY 2004)

Subject: Events at Mumbai: Date, time and venue

Dear Friends,

In the previous update, we had informed you of events that are being planned in Mumbai by the support group. This mail carries the confirmed details of time and venue of the events.

Please note that the time of Right to Food Campaign meeting on 20th January has been advanced from 7- 10 pm to 5 – 8 pm on the same day.

In case you are interested in further details, or in getting in touch with members of the `support group', please get in touch with us at the support group stall.

SUPPORT GROUP STALL

Venue: Stall Number 174 (1) Area `A' at WSF

Date: Open on all days of WSF.

Time: 9 am to 10 pm

SEMINAR AT WSF

Venue: B 39

Time: 5 pm – 8 pm

Date: 17 January 04

RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN MEETING

Venue: Keshav Gore Samarak Trust, RA Road, Goregaon (W).

Time: 5 pm – 8 pm (PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME HAS BEEN ADVANCED)

Date: 20 January 04

[The venue is 3 minutes walk from Goregaon (w) railway station]

SPECIAL UPDATE: FORTHCOMING EVENTS IN MUMBAI (JANUARY 2004)

Dear friends,

Between 16th and 21st January 2004 (next week!), two major events are going to take place in Mumbai drawing a large number of activists from India and abroad: the `World Social Forum 2004' and `Mumbai Resistance - 2004'. The support group of the right to food campaign is planning two events on this occasion: a public meeting as part of WSF and a meeting of campaign activists to discuss the Right to Food Campaign. A stall is also being organised at WSF, mainly to disseminate campaign material. This update brings you information on all these.

In case any of you are planning events relating to Right to Food Campaign either at WSF or MR –2004, we would be glad to carry information in our next update, to be released shortly. Please write to us as soon as possible with details of the venue, date, time and title of the relevant events.

(1) PUBLIC MEETING: The first event is a public meeting on the right to food, the right to work and the right to information. This will be convened jointly with the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI) and Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti. The meeting will focus on grassroots action for the right to food and

work, and on the role of the right to information in this context. The aim is to inspire and help the participants to plan further action on these issues in their own area of involvement. The main focus will be on India and South Asia.

Date: 17 January

Time: 5 – 8 pm

Venue: B 39

Please note that there is a minor risk that the date will be changed by the WSF organisers for logistic reasons.

(2) CAMPAIGN MEETING: The second event is an informal consultation about the Right to Food Campaign itself. The idea is to bring together campaign activists from around the country to review the agenda and structure of the campaign. If you are involved in the

right to food campaign, please make a special effort to attend this consultation. Earlier meetings of this kind have helped to initiate joint actions such as the "action day on mid-day meals" on 9 April 2002 and the "week of action on the right to work" (24 April – May 1,

2003). So it's not just talk – this meeting is also a potential springboard for stepped-up activities during the next few months.

Date: 19 January

Time: 7 pm – 10 pm

Venue: To be confirmed.

(3) STALL AT WSF: To disseminate campaign materials widely, a stall is being set up at WSF. The stall will carry various campaign materials including posters, pamphlets, booklets on various issues, interim orders of the Supreme Court, as well as materials on related

issues such as the right to information and the right to health.

Date: 16 – 21 January

Venue: WSF Stall number 174 (1) Area `A' (tentative).

UPDATE 23

Dear Friends,

In the context of pervasive corruption, the right to food depends a great deal on securing the right to information and restoring public accountability. Parivartan's fearless campaign to eradicate corruption from the public distribution system in Delhi, in the face of powerful interests, is an inspiring initiative in this regard (see item 1 below). This Update also brings you news from similar struggles in Bharawan (Uttar Pradesh) and Dhar (Madhya Pradesh). Further, we attempt to cover some recent developments relating to mid-day meals, the right to work, the right to health, and related matters. As always, we are unable to keep up with all the activities that are taking place around the country, but we hope that this is a fair sample of what is happening. Please remember to check the campaign website (www.righttofood.com) from time to time, for further information.

FLASH NEWS: TWO ACTIVISTS OF PARIVARTAN WERE BEATEN UP BY PDS DEALERS; SEE PRESS RELEASE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE UPDATE

Today's headlines:

• 1. DELHI: PARIVARTAN'S CAMPAIGN FOR AN ACCOUNTABLE PDS

  2. BHARAWAN (U.P.): STRUGGLE FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

  3. RIGHT TO WORK UPDATE

  4. TOWARDS THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

  5. MID-DAY MEALS UPDATE

  6. DALITS AND MID-DAY MEALS

  7. HOME MINISTRY SAYS NO TO RATION CARDS FOR THE HOMELESS

  8. DHAR (M.P.): DALIT WOMEN'S STRUGGLE FOR FAIR WAGES AND EMPLOYMENT

  9. COMMISSIONER'S UPDATE

 1. DELHI: PARIVARTAN'S CAMPAIGN FOR AN ACCOUNTABLE PDS

Parivartan, an organisation working for the right to information in Delhi, has been at loggerheads with the Delhi administration and the PDS dealer's lobby over transparency in the public distribution system (PDS). Parivartan decided to obtain the records of all ration shops in Sundernagari, a resettlement colony in East Delhi, under the Right to Information Act. The idea was to do a social audit of all the ration shops and expose the corrupt practices of the PDS dealers.

As a test case, an application was made by Triveni, a destitute widow who has been routinely deprived of her food rations. The records showed that Triveni had been receiving her full quota, and the `cash memos"had thumb impressions. However, Triveni is educated and never puts her thumb impressions. To probe more such cases, Parivartan decided to obtain the entire records of the ration shop. Waking up to the danger of sharing this information, the Food and Civil Supplies Department wrote to Parivartan saying that the records of the ration shops would not be disclosed as they were "private records".

Denying access to records is a violation of the directions of the Supreme Court, an of the PDS (Control) Order, 2001. Parivartan did not give up and initiated a long battle with the Department, in spite of dire threats from the dealers. After many rounds the administration finally agreed to share information. While they were still collecting the records, seventeen ration dealers approached the High Court of Delhi and obtained a stay against Parivartan. Since the stay was only against Parivartan, and not against the citizens of Delhi per se, it was decided to bring together people from across Delhi to demand records. On 29 August 2003, three hundred people from across the city met to file applications under the Right to information Act.

The same day a delegation including Parivartan, Aruna Roy, Sandeep Pandey and others met the food commissioner of Delhi. The food commissioner said that she would go by "legal advice" which is being read as "no to transparency" by the activists. But Parivartan is determined not to give up, and is planning a whole series of follow-up activities. More on these in future updates.

2. BHARAWAN (U.P.): STRUGGLE FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

The right to information movement is also spreading in Uttar Pradesh, notably in Bharawan block of Hardoi district. Starting in December 2002, Asha has been trying to invoke the right to information and obtain records pertaining to various panchayats. After a series of protests, the group met with some success in February 2003. They obtained the records of some Panchayats. As expected, the records showed clear evidence of corruption. This led to further efforts to restore accountability.

Asha submitted the details to the District administration. An enquiry committee was set up, but Asha did not get any news from the committee for a long time. Finally, they decided to approach the High Court. To their surprise, they learned that the enquiry committee had already given a report giving a clean chit to the Panchayats in question.

A new collector has recently been posted in Hardoi District. The issue was revived, and a new enquiry committee has been set up. Meanwhile, many village pradhans have started `confessing"to Asha and are offering to share records with them. Asha has taken a stand that the records should be shared with the gram sabha, and not just with them. A meeting is being planned on 19 September 2003, where Asha is hoping that some of these Pradhans will present the records in public.

The struggle for greater transparency and accountability in Bharwan has come a long way since the first dharna, almost a year ago. Uttar Pradesh is not exactly on the forefront of the right to information movement, but initiatives of this kind have started springing up in many places, and there are good prospects that the movement will gain strength in the near future.

3. RIGHT TO WORK UPDATE

Efforts continue to link the right to food with the right to work, and in particular to campaign for "employment guarantee acts"in various states. There are few concrete results so far, but at least the issue is on the political agenda and there are hopes of significant progress in the near future. In fact, semi-official announcements of imminent initiatives on this front have been made in several states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. For instance, in a recent letter addressed to Dr. N.C. Saxena (Commissioner of the Supreme Court), the Chief Secretary of Karnataka states that his government is planning to introduce an Employment Guarantee Act very soon. The proposed guarantee includes unemployment compensation of at least Rs 10 per day for those who are not provided with employment within a stipulated period. A dedicated "employment guarantee fund?is to be set up to finance the whole operation. Whether and how soon these good intentions will materialise remains to be seen.

In Rajasthan, regular demonstrations for the right to work have continued during the last few months. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan's "truck yatra"across the state in early July attracted large crowds wherever it went. Akal Sangharsh Samiti organised several events in Jaipur, including a week-long dharna coinciding with the latest session of the State Assembly, at the end of August. Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, claims to be fully committed to the idea of an employment guarantee act, but he wants the centre to foot the bill. Meanwhile, a high-level committee has been formed to examine the financial implications of an employment guarantee act in Rajasthan, and plans have been framed to introduce a "pilot scheme?in a few blocks. This pilot scheme does not sound promising and Akal Sangharsh Samiti dismissed it as tokenism.

4. TOWARDS THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

A national campaign for the "right to health care"has recently been launched by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), a close relative of the right to food campaign. The launch followed a national workshop and "public consultation"on the right to health held in Mumbai on 5-6 September 2003. Over 250 JSA delegates from 16 states attended this lively event, aimed at nothing less than "chalking out a campaign strategy to make the Right to Health Care a fundamental constitutional right and an operational reality" An insightful 4-page summary of the proceedings, prepared by Abhay Shukla (National Secretariat, JSA), is available here.

At the end of the public consultation on 6 September, all the participants took the following pledge: "We regard the right to the highest attainable standard of health as an inalienable human right. We declare that the Right to Health Care should be made a Fundamental Right in the Indian Constitution, and that this right must be enforced immediately through appropriate legal and executive measures. We pledge to work tirelessly to resist the denial of this right in all forms and at all levels, and to mobilise our fellow countrymen, women and children towards the establishment of the Right to Health Care as an important milestone on the way to the realisation of the dream of Health for All."

5. MID-DAY MEALS UPDATE

The "mid-day meal movement"(so to speak) continues to grow. According to official data, 50 million children now get a free school lunch, with another 50 million or so in the queue. The states where mid-day meals are yet to be initiated are mainly Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and West Bengal (in Orissa, it seems that mid-day meals are still confined to tribal areas). Elsewhere, the quality of mid-day meals varies a great deal, and leaves much to be desired in many cases, but at least the programme is in place and there is a basis for further action.

A survey of mid-day meals in three states (Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Rajasthan) was recently conducted under the auspices of the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), New Delhi. The findings suggest that mid-day meals have made a promising start, but that quality issues need urgent attention if this programme is to realise its full potential. Positive findings of the survey include: mid-day meals are very popular, especially among underprivileged households; school attendance has shot up after MDMs were introduced; MDMs provide an essential protection against classroom hunger; and the mid-day meal is a useful socialisation experience, as children of different castes and communities learn to sit together and share a common meal. Important concerns include inadequate funding, inadequate infrastructure, inadequate quality safeguards, and (last but not least) the low nutrition content of mid-day meals.. A summary of the survey findings was recently published in Frontline (see http://www.flonnet.com/fl2016/stories/20030815002208500.htm) A lot of useful evidence on mid-day meals also emerged at a recent workshop convened by the Nutrition Foundation of India (New Delhi, 1 August 2003). The background papers provide a wealth of insights into the achievements, failures and potentials of mid-day meals across the country. If interested, please contact the Nutrition Foundation of India (nfi@ren02.nic.in).

On 15 August, 2003, the Prime Minister "announced"the introduction of a national mid-day meal programme, up to Class 10. Given the history of these 15 August announcements, it would be naïve to expect this one to be implemented in a hurry. But at least it provides a basis for further consolidation and expansion of the mid-day meal campaign.

6. DALITS AND MID-DAY MEALS

Dalit families have a special stake in mid-day meals, not only because Dalit children are particularly exposed to hunger but also because mid-day meals can help to break the barriers of caste. The CES survey (see above) suggests that in most schools, children are quite happy to sit together and share a common meal. However, in many places there is staunch resistance (mainly from upper-caste parents) to the appointment of Dalit cooks. In Rajasthan, for instance, Dalits are almost never appointed as cooks, except possibly in hamlets with no upper-caste children. In north Karnataka, the survey found that half of the cooks were Dalits, and that this arrangement had gained fairly wide social acceptance. However, the recent extension of mid-day meals to other parts of Karnataka has not been so smooth, with reports of upper-caste resistance to Dalit cooks pouring in from many areas. In Tumkur district, an upper-caste boy apparently had to go through a purificatory bath in cow's urine after eating food prepared by a Dalit cook at school. In other places, Dalit cooks have been dismissed due to parental objections. The right to food network in Karnataka is actively investigating these issues, and campaigning for firm implementation of the policy of appointing Dalit cooks.

7. HOME MINISTRY SAYS NO TO RATION CARDS FOR THE HOMELESS

The homeless are among the poorest people in urban areas, and special initiatives are needed to protect them from hunger and undernutrition. Instead, the homeless are being systematically excluded from most public services and welfare programmes, including the public distribution system (PDS). Many state governments claim that they are unable to provide ration cards to the homeless, due to a Home Ministry circular. The circular says that no ration cards should be given to people who do not provide a clear proof of address. The Ministry argues that "illegal immigrants" use ration cards to establish their citizenship.

Ration cards are vital in many contexts (not just the PDS), as many welfare schemes are now restricted to households with BPL cards. The Home Ministry's concern can easily be addressed by providing special ration cards that cannot be used as a proof of address, or by some other administrative arrangements. But most states have preferred to sweep the issue under the carpet rather than search for creative ways to address the problem.

A significant exception is Karnataka, where the administration recently organised a meeting with various NGOs on this issue. The government has already issued a circular stating that it will provide free grain to any NGO that runs night shelters and other facilities for street children. A census of homeless people is also being initiated, to facilitate further action.

8. DHAR (M.P.): DALIT WOMEN'S STRUGGLE FOR FAIR WAGES AND EMPLOYMENT

For the last two years, Dalit women in Dahi village (Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh) have been struggling for fair wages and employment. The struggle began after they were denied the legal minimum wage on relief works. In fact, they were given less than half the minimum wage. When they organised to demand the minimum wage, they were summarily dismissed from the relief works and later subjected to physical harassment. A local school teacher who took the side of the Dalit women also faced harassment and lost her job (she was teaching in a private school). The women of Dahi approached the local administration many times, but no action was taken.

Last month, they sent a complaint and detailed report to the Commissioners, Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S. R. Sankaran. The Commissioners took up the matter with the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh and prompt action followed. All the labourers who had been employed on relief works finally received their full wages. Compensation for non-payment of minimum wages is also being initiated in other parts of the district. The school teacher, we hear, has also bee reinstated. This victory gave a major boost to the Dalit women of Dahi.

9. COMMISSIONERS' UPDATE

The Dahi incident is yet another example of the potential effectiveness of the Commissioners in redressing violations of the right to food. The Commissioners are making efforts to expand their work, with regular field visits, periodic reports to the Supreme Court, prompt response to local complaints, sustained correspondence with all the state governments, and much more. For further information, please contact their assistant, Shonali Sen (C/o Centre for Equity Studies; C 17 A, DDA Flats, Munirka, New Delhi. E-Mail: commissioners@vsnl.net), or consult the "Commissioners Work" section of the campaign website (www.righttofood.com).

Dr. Saxena recently visited Bihar and prepared a report on the situation there. The report can be obtained from Shonali Sen. Mr. Sankaran, for his part, is touring West Bengal currently, to enquire about the implementation of Supreme Court orders. He is expected to be in West Bengal during 21 "24 September 2003.

PRESS RELEASE 24 September 2003

DARE TO ASK People seeking ration related records beaten up by ration shop keepers

On the afternoon of 23 September, 2003, Panini Anand and Rajiv Kumar, volunteers of Parivartan who had gone to assist people who were seeking records in the Assistant Commissioner's office of the Food and Supplies Department, North East Delhi, were abused and attacked in his office premises by local leader and ration shop owner, Jagatpal Singh, along with some other ration shop owners of the area. The volunteers were severely beaten up in the office premises and one of them was, later, hit by a brick while he was on the way to the Nand Nagari police station to file a complaint. An FIR (No. 548/2003) has been filed. Subsequently, some ration shop owners surrounded the Nand Nagari police station and threatened the Parivartan volunteers with dire consequences. It was only on the intervention of the Deputy Commissioner that the volunteers, including four women, were evacuated by a police vehicle and driven to safety.

Based on the threats issued by the ration shop owners, it is clear that this attack was in retaliation to Parivartan's role in helping the people of Delhi to file applications under the Delhi Right to Information Act, seeking to inspect records of ration shops. Obviously the attack was an effort to create insecurity and a sense of fear among the people, especially as many of the applicants have also reported receiving verbal threats and have been asked to withdraw their applications for information.

It is worth noting that, fed up with the problems of corruption plaguing the public distribution system, several residents of resettlement colonies across Delhi have been asking for access to information, related to records of ration shops, under the 'Delhi Right to Information Act'. In fact, a meeting attended by over 300 resettlement colony residents was organised by Parivartan and other groups, on 29 August, 2003, at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, to discuss and highlight the problems that these people were having with ration shops in their areas. The participants also went in a delegation to meet the Commissioner, Food and Civil Supplies, Delhi Government and over 150 applications were filed for inspecting records concerning the distribution of rations.

It was in this connection that on 23rd September, records of ration shops of Circle 46 were to be shown to the applicants in the office of the Food and Supplies Officer. However, when people reached the office of the Food and Supplies Officer to inspect the records the local ration shopkeepers were already present there and seemed determined to prevent public access to the records, in order to hide discrepancies in the distribution of ration and kerosene oil, and the modus operandi and quantum of corruption. Even before this attack, they had tried to threaten and bribe the applicants to prevent them from applying for information.

The National Campaign for People's Right to Information strongly condemns this action of the ration shop owners. Although the ration shop owners are obviously trying to intimidate the people, their resorting to violence reveals their desperation and further confirms our conviction that empowering the people of Delhi through the Right to Information Act is an important, and perhaps the best, way of fighting entrenched vested interests.

Shekhar Singh On behalf of NCPRI

UPDATE 22

Dear Friends,

Many events have happened in the past month or two that we were not able to report. We hope to catch up with some of them in the next few updates. In this update, we wish to catch up with the current events quickly.

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

1. DHARANA IN JAIPUR FOR RIGHT TO WORK

2. MID-DAY MEALS IN KARNATAKA – THE CASTE TROUBLE

3. PUBLIC HEARING IN WEST BENGAL

4. DHARANA IN MADHYA PRADESH OVER CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

5. ORISSA - JOINT ENQUIRY REPORT ON IRREGULARITIES IN EMPLOYMENT

PROGRAMMES

1. DHARANA IN JAIPUR FOR RIGHT TO WORK

A dharna for the right to work and related demands began in Jaipur on 16 August. The dharna is led by Akal Sangharsh Samiti, a network of 70 Rajasthan-based organisations. The main demand is an Employment Guarantee Act for Rajasthan. However, the dharna has also taken up related issues such as: (1) tribal evictions from forest land; (2) continuation of relief works until the next harvest; (3) an improved right to information law; (4) a fair and transparent procedure to update and correct electoral rolls; (5) shrinking of city space for democratic protest.

On the first day of the dharna, a number of participants fasted in solidarity with Anna Hazare, who was on an indefinite fast in Mumbai at that time. Anna Hazare was fasting for the enactment and

improvement of Maharashtra's "right to information act". The fast was a success and Maharashtra now has one of the best right to information acts in the country. The right to information issue also

figures prominently in the Jaipur dharna, and was even the object of a full public hearing on 18 August.

Also on the first day of the dharna, a delegation met Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Regarding tribal evictions, the Chief Minister told the delegation that eviction notices would be withdrawn and that no eviction notice would be issued without a full verification of the facts. He also addressed the other demands and assured the delegation that he would pursue these matters.

On the issue of employment guarantee, the Chief Minister said that he was himself keen on the idea, provided that the central government supplied free grain for it. He mentioned that he had

pleaded the case for an employment guarantee with the central government. Indeed, he felt that it was the only lasting solution to poverty and hunger. The delegation tried to persuade him that the

state government should take the first step in introducing an employment guarantee, and that what was needed was a legal guarantee and not just a scheme.

The dharna continues and will be in place until the end of the forthcoming Assembly session, which starts on 21 August.

2. MID-DAY MEALS IN KARNATAKA – THE CASTE TROUBLE

In keeping with the trend of increasing coverage of mid-day meals, Karnataka has introduced cooked meals thought the state this academic session. The expanded coverage has come with its set of teething trouble. While it appears that the logistical issues are being taken care of, the caste angle is taking worrisome shape in many districts. In Tumkur District for example, several Dalit cooks have been replaced for casteist reasons, following protests from upper caste parents. Members of the Right to Food Campaign in Karnataka have been taking the issue up actively. The commissioners have also intervened in their fourth report, asking for reinstating all Dalit cooks who have been removed, ensuring that at least half the new appointments of cooks and helpers are Dalits, and ensuring that at least 1/3rd of all the cooks and helpers in each state are

Dalits.

3. PUBLIC HEARING IN WEST BENGAL

A successful public hearing was held in Kolkatta, West Bengal, bringing together participants from across the state. The panel for the hearing included ex-chief justices of Kolkatta High Court, and the Manipur High Court; eminent economists, an ex-MP, among others. The panel has submitted its interim report, which indicts the West Bengal government strongly for its inaction in various fronts.

The commission listened to issues put forward by people on various fronts. Many issues were raised on the public distribution system. People complained that shops continued to open erratically, despite the directions of the court to open on all working days for a regular fixed duration. The quality of grain was left wanting, and often they were overcharged for the grain they received. Complaints made to the local officials and even the BDO were of no avail.

The commission was of the opinion that little was done to spread information about the entitlements, and as a result, most people do not know about the schemes. Even when they had information, on many occasions people were not able to receive their entitlements due to

non-cooperation by the local agencies. The commission candidly concluded that little was being done to implement the directions of the Supreme Court, and what little people were able to get was due to collective action they organised to receive their entitlements.

4. DHARANA IN MADHYA PRADESH OVER CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

Barwani District has been a scene of action in the past few months. Adivasi Mukthi Sangathan has been trying to receive copies of muster rolls and other documents pertaining to relief works in the area. The Administration has been denying access to records for the past year continuously. After the commissioner intervened, the administration asked the sangathan to pay over Rs. 22,000 to access the muster rolls for just three projects. Convinced that there is tremendous corruption in the area, and that the collector of the district is involved deeply in it, the sangathan has taken on the collision course now. An eight-day dharana was organised in the district headquarters, followed by a large rally. A delegation has also gone to meet the Chief Minister to press their demands for an enquiry. In the meanwhile, the commissioners have asked for the

pricing of the muster rolls to be reduced to reasonable levels to make them accessible to all.

5. ORISSA - JOINT ENQUIRY REPORT ON IRREGULARITIES IN EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

Following complaints made by villagers on corruption in sundergarh district of Orissa, the commissioners asked for a joint enquiry committee to be set by the State with one representative of the commissioner in the team. The committee enquired into the irregularities in SGRY in the alleged areas, and has submitted its report recently. The report of the independent member will shortly be made available on the website (www.righttofood.com).

The commissioners received a complaint of irregularities in SGRY in Sundargarh District of Orissa. The complainant was able to access the muster rolls, when they found various fake entries in them. The commissioners' intervention was sought based on the fake musters, and a request was made to ensure that people who have not yet received the wages should be paid immediately. The commissioners took up the issue with the Government of Orissa and demanded a joint enquiry. Acting upon it immediately, the state set up a committee along with a representative of the commissioner.

The report of the independent member of the committee brings out various irregularities in the implementation of SGRY, including: Fudging of muster rolls, and embezzlement of funds; People had to travel fifteen kilometres to collect the grain component of their wages; Many projects were started without formal sanctions; Wages are not paid within one week of work done, and the payment is highly irregular; A contractor Mr. D.D. Banarjee was used for the projects in contravention of the rules; Lack of basic amenities including drinking water, crèche and basic medical facilities; Poor monitoring and irresponsive administration that chose to ignore repeated

complaints by villagers; Payment of different wages for men and women by the contractor.

The good news is that the Govt of Orissa was responsive to the commissioner and an enquiry was promptly set up. It remains to be seen as to what measures the government will take based on the findings of the enquiry.

UPDATE 21

Dear friends,

There have been important developments relating to the Commissioners' work in recent weeks, and this special Update is an attempt to brief you on this.

After a relatively slow take-off, the Commissioners' work is beginning to reveal its full power and potential. The power of the Commissioners (and their "advisers") came to light mainly in Madhya Pradesh, in the wake of public hearings and other events. Issues raised by the Commissioners have elicited swift responses from the concerned authorities, and in many cases of violation of Supreme Court orders, redressal has been obtained. Of course, there is a long way from case-by-case redressal to systemic accountability, but this is at least a step forward. The tempo is likely to increase further in the near future, following the recent induction of Mr. S.R. Sankaran as co-Commissioner, with Dr. N.C. Saxena.

 Strictly speaking, the Commissioners' work is not part of the "right to food campaign". It is an independent structure set up by the Supreme Court for monitoring and redressal purposes. But naturally enough, there is a close relationship between the two, and the Commissioners are quite sympathetic to the campaign. This update attempts to give you a taste of their work (see also the "Commissioner's work" page on the website, www.righttofood.com).

The website has just been upgraded, you may wish to take a look in any case. We take this opportunity to thank Aparajita Goyal for the new design.

Today's headlines:

1. MR. SANKARAN SWINGS INTO ACTION

2. COMMISSIONERS: BRIEF OVERVIEW

3. THE MACHINE MENACE

4. FROM MONITORING TO REDRESSAL

5. CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE: ANOTHER ROLE OF THE COMMISSIONERS

6. MADHYA PRADESH TAKES THE LEAD

1. MR. SANKARAN SWINGS INTO ACTION

As mentioned in the last update, Mr. S.R. Sankaran has recently been appointed as co-Commissioner of the Supreme Court, with Dr. N.C. Saxena, for the purpose of monitoring orders relating to the right to food. Mr. Sankaran, who is based in Hyderabad, proposes to concentrate initially on the southern states of India, as well as on Orissa and Maharashtra. He has a special interest in issues of employment guarantee and minimum wages. For the time being, the Commissioners may be contacted at "commissioners@vsnl.net", or c/o Shonali Sen (their research assistant) at shonalisen@hotmail.com. Fuller contact details for the Commissioners will be posted on the campaign website (www.righttofood.com) very soon.

 2. COMMISSIONERS: BRIEF OVERVIEW

The Commissioners (Dr. Saxena and Mr. Sankaran) were appointed by the Supreme Court on 8 May 2002 and 2 May 2003, respectively, to monitor Supreme Court orders relating to the right to food (PUCL vs Union of India and others, Writ Petition [Civil] 196 of 2001). The Commissioners are empowered to enquire about any violations of these orders and to demand redressal, with the full authority of the Supreme Court. They are also expected to report to the court from time to time.

In each state, an "assistant" is supposed to have been appointed by the state government to liaise with the Commissioners. In addition, the Commissioners have appointed their own "advisors" in some states.

In the case of Karnataka, for instance, the "resident commissioner of Karnataka in Delhi" is the designated assistant to the Commissioners, and Mutthappa is the "advisor".

 Since it would be impossible for the Commissioners to take up all complaints on a case-by-case basis, they tend to focus on issues that are likely to have a wider impact. For instance, the Commissioners have taken up policy issues such the coverage of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and other social security schemes, delays in the implementation of mid-day meal programmes, and the use of labour-displacing machinery in relief works (see below). Occasionally, the Commissioners also taken up specific, ground-level cases of violation of the right to food, especially when there is a potential for "demonstration effects". Currently such interventions are on in Sheopur and Sendwa of Madhya Pradesh. The Commissioners also respond to reports and complaints sent by the "advisors", who are closer to the situation on the ground.

The nature of complaints that can be appropriately sent to the Commissioners and their advisors was helpfully discussed by Madhya Pradesh groups at a workshop held in Dewas in November 2002. The following criteria were suggested, among others: (1) the facts

Should be well documented, (2) local redressal mechanisms should be exhausted, (3) there should be a potential for wider impact, e.g. through demonstration effects.

Among the issues currently receiving scrutiny from the Commissionersare: progress of mid-day meal schemes, labour displacement in relief works, the larger issue of right to work, expanding the coverage of pensions, payment of minimum wages, the issue of subsidised exports, and a host of other issues arising from the ground. Some of these are further discussed below.

For a more detailed introduction to the Commissioners' mandate, concerns, activities, etc., see the "Commissioners' Work" section on the website (www.righttofood.com). See also the periodic reports submitted by the Commissioners to the Supreme Court, also available            on the website. The fourth report of the Commissioners is due next month.

3. THE MACHINE MENACE

There have been frequent reports about the use of labour-displacing machines in relief works and employment programmes. For instance, tractors have been widely used in relief works and the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana, and excavators are extensively used in

Highway construction projects. Reports of large-scale use of machines have come from Andhra Pradesh, parts of Madhya Pradesh, and other parts in the country. In many cases, these labour-displacing machines defeat the purpose of "labour-intensive" wage-employment programmes. In such programmes, the use of labour-displacing machines is officially banned, but the ban is often ineffective.

Public awareness and active vigilance are key to ensuring that machines are not used in employment programmes. The Commissioners are lending their support to this effort, indeed they have taken the initiative. For instance, reacting to reports from Barwani (Madhya Pradesh) recently, Dr. N.C. Saxena has asked for an enquiry. He has also insisted on public accessibility of the enquiry's findings, and of muster rolls and other records pertaining to the employment of labour on public works.

Another measure under consideration is the preparation of district level gazettes that would list all the employment projects to be taken up in a district. This would help us know where projects are `being implemented'. The Commissioner has also written to the states asking them to commission an officer at the state level who would put information on projects on a website no later than a month after it is sanctioned. This would help concerned citizens and organisations to identify `ghost projects'. The Commissioners have also directed the states to maintain a book of complaints (based on letters, newspaper reports, petitions, etc.) pertaining to illegal uses of machines on public works. This can potentially serve as a single point through which the Commissioners' interventions could be based.

The Commissioners are striving to make the governments review current policies and ensure that labour-displacing machines are discouraged if not out rightly banned. For instance, the state governments and the Government of India have been asked to appoint a review

Committee each consisting of engineers, economists, state relief secretary and members of civil society to look into the possibility of substitutinglabour for machines in public works. The committee is expected to scrutinise the works undertaken by a range of departments such as public works, irrigation, and rural engineering services. The committee would examine the cost implications of such substitution, list out works where labour could be substituted for machines withlittle or no addition to costs, and consider additional measures to promote the use of labour intensive techniques.

The response of the Government of India and the states remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on this. Meanwhile, comments and suggestions on this issue are welcome. They may be sent to Shonali Sen (research assistant to the Commissioners) at shonalisen@hotmail.com.

4. FROM MONITORING TO REDRESSAL

Unspent resources that end up being returned to the exchequer are a common phenomenon in India's development programmes. In many cases, timely and effective utilisation of funds would mean that larger funds are subsequently made available for the relevant programmes.

Using periodic returns and performance reports submitted by the state governments, the Commissioners have been trying to press for effective utilisation of funds allocated to food-related programmes. In a recent case, some labourers in West Midnapore (West Bengal) had petitioned for work, yet work was not provided to them in spite of unspent funds being available.

In such situations, the question has been – what is the redressal?  As an experiment, the government of West Bengal has been asked to give the petitioners compensation equivalent to a hundred days of work, if the district had not used 90% of available resources. If procedures such as these become institutionalised, there is a prospect of moving beyond "monitoring" to "redressal". Similarly, in many districts, beneficiaries of the Annapoorna scheme have been under-identified. The government has been asked to complete the process of identification and to pay a monetary compensation worth one year of "subsidy" (10 kgs of grain per month, free of cost) for depriving the beneficiary of the entitlement due to later identification. Further experiments with concrete redressal mechanisms are on the cards in various places.

5. CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE: ANOTHER ROLE OF THE COMMISSIONERS

The PUCL petition, and subsequent "interim applications" to the Supreme Court, stress the importance of a strong social security system to realise the right to food. Much work has gone into expanding and improving the Antyodaya Anna Yojana. Other schemes that have proved relatively effective on the ground, in many states, include social security pensions such as pensions for widows, the elderly, and disabled persons. Field reports suggest that there is much potential for effective use of pension schemes as a tool of

Food security. However, as things stand the coverage of pension schemes is quite limited in most states. Much needs to be done to expand the coverage, especially for groups such as widows who are among the deprived.

The role of the Commissioners is not just to oversee theimplementation of existing orders, but also to propose and foster lasting steps towards the eradication of hunger and undernutrition. In this spirit, the Commissioners have been advocating an expansion of pension schemes in the Supreme Court. Plans are afoot to take agenda forward in the next few months.

 6. MADHYA PRADESH TAKES THE LEAD

 In recent months, the Commissioners' work has been making specialheadway in Madhya Pradesh. This is partly because of the active involvement of Dr. Mihir Shah, advisor to the Commissioners for Madhya Pradesh. Recent events there suggest that the tremendous authority of the Commissioners partly devolves to the advisors as well, in so far as the advisors have the ear of the Commissioners themselves, and therefore, indirectly, of the Supreme Court. Even the simple act of copying a complaint letter (addressed, say, to the local District Magistrate) to the Commissioners and/or their advisor seems to have remarkable effects in terms of ensuring a prompt response from the concerned authorities. This reflects the "fear" of the Supreme Court among civil servants, and the fact that the Commissioners effectively represent the Supreme Court in this context. This is a lesson of major importance for other states, especially those with relatively "dormant" advisors. Some recent initiatives and achievements in MP:

 (a) In Dindori, following the Jan Sunwayi on the 8th of June 2003 at village Dhaba, block Samnapur, there has been encouraging progress the decisions taken by the administration that day. The Baiga Mahapanchayat that organised the Jan Sunwayi has informed Dr. Mihir Shah that the district administration has moved fast on distribution of Antyodaya cards to all members of the Baiga "primitive" tribe as per the latest order of the Supreme Court. The process is expected to be completed soon. As a direct result of the Jan Sunwayi, employment programmes have also begun in many `forest villages', where they had been stalled for years due to restrictions imposed by the Forest Department. The District Collector has sent Dr.Mihir Shah a copy of his instructions to all line departments to take urgent steps to act upon the nearly 50 complaints received during the Jan Sunwayi from the Baigas regarding non-payment of wages, corruption related matters, etc. The Baiga Mahapanchayat, the organiser of the public hearing, is closely monitoring action on this.

 (b) In Sendwa, the follow-up has not been as encouraging as in Dindori, but there is indeed much movement happening there. The state government has immediately issued clarificatory orders relating to use of labour-displacing machines and have issued instructions about provision of muster rolls and other documents. The collector has also been directed to submit a detailed report regarding the issues raised by the commissioners. In the meanwhile, the district administration has reportedly swung into action saying `this is a bomb dropped by the Supreme Court and we have to act in coordination if we have to survive'. Various senior officers have been in touch with the complainants, Advasi Mukti Sangathan, and are trying to persuade them to agree to some soft options like dismissing some junior officers. The sangathan is launching an andolan against the district collector who has not been responsive to any of the demands raised by the gram sabhas, and by the commissioners.

 (c) In Sheopur, a team led by Shonali Sen has done detailed investigation of one chosen panchayat – Hirapur, details of which were sent in the previous update (the report will shortly be uploaded in the website). With constant attention from the campaign, the district is geared up to issue Antyodaya cards to all Sahariyas,  Baigas, other primitive tribes in the district, aged without, and widows without support. A plan of action is being made in coordination with the advisor to the commissioner, to ensure that there is follow up to the report on Sheopur. Some of the issues taken up will be improving the accessibility of muster rolls and other basic documents, improving the mid day meal programme, ensuring that Antyodaya cards are distributed and grains are provided, and pressing for at least an employment guarantee in the region.

We are doing our best to ensure that more information on the commissioners' work is available in the website. We urge you to consult the section on commissioners' work regularly. If you would have any further queries, please write to Shonali at  shonalisen@hotmail.com.

UPDATE 20: Latest Developments

Dear friends,

This Update discusses a sample of recent developments in various states. As always, we are unable to keep track of all the relevant activities, given the decentralised nature of the campaign. We take this opportunity to remind you that we are always interested in news from the field. Please send any useful information you may have to right2food@yahoo.co.in

Today's headlines:

1. MID-DAY MEAL UPDATE

2. UPDATE ON RECENT PUBLIC HEARINGS

3. MADHYA PRADESH: CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

4. ORISSA: CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

5. VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN U.P.

6. COMMISSIONER TO VISIT UTTAR PRADESH

7. REMINDER: BHOPAL WORKSHOP ON UNDERNUTRITION AND STARVATION

8. WEBSITE UPGRADE

1. MID-DAY MEAL UPDATE

The campaign for universal mid-day meals in primary schools is in full swing as children flock back to school after the summer vacation. Here is a sample of recent developments:

 (1) Full implementation in Karnataka: The Karnataka government extended the mid-day meal scheme to all districts in the first week of July (before that, the scheme was restricted to 7 districts).  Initial media reports highlight cases of children falling ill as

well as parental objections to the appointment of Dalit cooks. Some parents from Government schools in the districts of Tumkur, Mysore and Chamarajnagar refused to allow their children to eat school lunches prepared by Dalit women. Moreover, inferior quality of food grains and unhygienic cooking conditions are said to be the reasons for students taking ill. According to newspaper reports, the Government has ordered an inquiry into the incidents. To put things in perspective, "teething problems" of this kind have been a feature of the initial phase of mid-day meal schemes in many states. The situation typically improves over time. This is not to diminish the importance of the quality issues that emerge from these incidents.

 (2) MDMs in Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi launched a "cooked mid-day meal" programme in about 400 primary schools in capital on July 4, 2003 in collaboration with various NGOs and  (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). It is reported that children relished the lentil, rice and 'suji halwa' laid out on sparkling steel plates by the volunteers of ISKCON on the first day of the programme. ISKCON has agreed to provide cooked meals to 1,265 students in five schools near its temple in South Delhi as of now. It remains to be seen how the Delhi Government proposes to implement Supreme Court orders in the vast majority of schools not included in this project.

 (3) MDM Research: A field survey of mid-day meals in three states  (Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh) was launched earlier this year by a research team based at the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi. The study is nearing completion and a preview of the main findings is to be published in Frontline on 1 August. Here are some highlights of the summary report:

"The survey suggests that school meals have made a promising start around the country. However, there are serious quality issues, which need urgent attention if mid-day meal programmes are to realise their full potential.

On the positive side, mid-day meals have led to impressive increases in school participation. Taking the 81 sample schools together, Class-1 enrolment rose by 15% after mid-day meals were introduced.   Especially impressive is the increase of 29% in female enrolment in the sample villages of Rajasthan in class 1. Informal evidence reveals that mid-day meals have also enhanced daily school attendance.

The survey did not find much evidence of open caste discrimination in the context of mid-day meals, such as separate sitting arrangements.  Pupils of all social backgrounds seem to be quite happy to sit together and share the same food. However, caste prejudices do prevail in various forms, as when upper-caste parents insist on

Their children coming home for lunch. Also, there is much resistance to the appointment of Dalit cooks. In Karnataka, half of the cooks are Dalits, but in Rajasthan, the survey did not find any Dalit cooks except in some all-Dalit villages.

The quality of school-meal programmes seems significantly better in Karnataka than in Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan. Karnataka has made comparatively good progress in building a sound infrastructure for mid-day meals: most cooks enjoy the assistance of a "helper", and a substantial proportion of schools (31 per cent) already have a pacca kitchen. In contrast, the mid-day meal infrastructure in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan is still highly inadequate: most cooks have to manage on their own in the most challenging circumstances, without elementary facilities such as a helper, kitchen or proper utensils.

Mid-day meals are quite popular in each of the three sample states. Alarge majority of parents (91%) and teachers (84%) favour the continuation of the mid-day meal scheme. Those who advocate discontinuation belong mainly to privileged castes or classes who seem to see mid-day meals as a threat to the prevailing social hierarchy."

 (4) In a pioneering initiative, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) proposes to start "monitoring" the mid-day meal scheme in Chhattisgarh through monthly visits to every school in six sample districts. The short questionnaire to be used for these monthly inspections will be posted in the "Mid-day meals" section of the website (www.righttofood.com) very soon, for possible use elsewhere.

Readers interested in this initiative are invited to contact Mr. Lakhan Singh, BGVS-Chhattisgarh (cgbgvs@rediffmail.com).

2. UPDATE ON RECENT PUBLIC HEARINGS

As mentioned in earlier Updates (available on the website, in case you missed them), there was a wave of public hearings on the right food last June, notably in Chittorgarh (Rajasthan), Kalahandi  (Orissa), Dindori (Madhya Pradesh), Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh) and Sendwa (Madhya Pradesh again). In all cases, there has been active follow-up of the issues raised at the public hearing. In particular,  cases of violations of the right to food have been taken up with the concerned authorities, with varying degrees of success. In some cases, as in Dindori, there was extensive on-the-spot redressal at the public hearing itself (see Update 19). In others, as in Shahdol  (M.P.), partial successes in securing redressal during the follow-up phase have been mixed with incidents of suppression and repression. Below is a digest of recent feedback received from some of these areas:

 (1) Dindori: Following the Jan Sunwai (public hearing) held on the 8 June 2003 at village Dhaba, district Dindori (M.P.), there has been encouraging progress on the decisions taken that day. The Baiga Mahapanchayat that organised the Jan Sunwai has informed Dr. Mihir Shah, advisor to the Commissioners for M.P., that the district administration has moved fast on distribution of Antyodaya cards to all members of the Baiga "primitive" tribe as per the latest order of the Supreme Court. The process is expected to be completed soon. As direct result of the Jan Sunwai, employment programmes have also begun in many forest villages where they had been stalled for years due to restrictions imposed by the Forest Department. The District Collector has sent Dr. Mihir Shah a copy of his instructions to all line departments to take urgent steps to act upon the nearly 50 complaints received during the Jan Sunwai from the Baigas regarding non-payment of wages, corruption related matters, etc. The Baiga Mahapanchayat is closely monitoring action on this.

 (2) Shivpuri: We have received a follow-up report on the Shivpuri public hearing (30 May 2003) from S.K. Singh of Sahariya Jan Andolan in Shivpuri. According to this report: "Shivpuri Jansunwai has created frantic ripples in the district. The machinery has been very quick to act upon the demands raised in the memorandum. No effort was made by any quarter to refute the allegations. The points raised in the memorandum were taken up in the district drought relief meetings and block level janpad meetings, the information given in the memorandum was totally verifiable, thus CEO and Sarpanch had no defence." The demands that have been dealt with include: outstanding payments to labourers employed on relief works; action against persons responsible for embezzling grain from the public distribution system; water supply arrangements in drought-affected villages;  distribution of Antyodaya cards to Sahariya families; starting of relief works in villages where there were none before.

The report adds: "The sarpanch, secretaries and the block CEO seem agitated and upset of the activist as the information provided by them has been used against them as a result of which they have shown keen interest in helping the sangathan in every possible manner in future... While local community is happy that jansunwai was helpful in raising their concerns, local PRI and block functionaries did not like it They are feeling very embarrassed. Shivnarayan , the local activist is being cornered and provoked by name calling and threats of "we will see you."

3. MADHYA PRADESH: CORRUPTION IN RELIEF WORKS

Much has happened in recent weeks in Sheopur district, western  Pradesh. This is one of the most deprived areas of M.P., with extremely high levels of undernutrition, especially among the Sahariyas. On 26-28 June, an intensive training on the "three Rs"  (right to food, the right to work and the right to information) took place at the ashram of Ekta Parishad, a radical Gandhian active in the area. About 50 activists of Ekta Parishad took part in this gathering. The training focused particularly on the problem of corruption in relief works and food schemes, which has deprived thousands of Sahariya families of their entitlements in recent months. Many trainees are now investigating cases of corruption in employment programmes and food schemes in their respective areas.

Around the same time, a team led by Shonali Sen, assistant to the Commissioners, started investigating corruption in relief works in the area, and other violations of the right to food. It did not take long for shocking instances of corruption to come to the surface.  Following on this, the team initiated a "case study" of village Hirapur, about 20 kms from the district headquarters. This involved   long hunt for the "muster rolls" of recent relief works. The team was sent from pillar to post by the local administration, and whenever muster rolls did surface, evidence of corruption quickly emerged. The team is preparing a detailed report on the food situation in Sheopur,  on behalf of Dr. N.C. Saxena. The report will be released soon, andposted on the website.

4. ORISSA: CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

 (Excerpts from a recent communication received from Orissa.) A one-day Consultative Meet of activists of Right to Food Campaign was organized at Agragamee Orissa Office on 17 June 2003 to chalk out future course of action for strengthening the campaign in the state.  Mr. Sudarshan Das presided over the meeting. At the outset, Mr. Pradip Pradhan gave a quick overview on the chronological development of the activities of Right to Food Campaign in the state. He briefed about the Supreme Court verdict on the writ petition filed by PUCL,  with appeal to direct the government to ensure food security to the poor living amidst hunger and starvation despite deposit of huge tones of food-grain in FCI go-down. He also suggested that like rallies, dharanas and public hearings should be taken up at a national level. Mr. Raj Kishore Mishra presented the findings of the Public hearing organized in Kerpai Panchayat of Thuamul Rampur Block of Bolangir district on 4.6.02.

 After prolonged discussion on the suggestions given by the participants, the following decisions were unanimously taken in the meeting:

1) A state-level Public Hearing will be organized in Bhubaneswar in the month of October.

2) A study on Implementation of Supreme Court Verdict in the state will be undertaken and Mr. Sasikant Nayak and Mr. Naran Jena were given the responsibility to prepare the format and questionnaire for the study, which will be finalized in the first week of July.

3) State-level campaign committee will be formed to spearhead the campaign on the Right to Food in the state.

4) Other issues relating to Food Security will be taken up.

5) Few blocks will be identified to experiment the right to food activities in the state.

5. VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN U.P.

 (Based on communication received from Sanjay Rai, Lucknow.) Even though people working under SGRY in Mau District, situated in the Eastern part of the state Uttar Pradesh, are entitled to Rs. 23 and 5 kg of rice per working day, the workers have only received the cash allowance and not the rice for the period between April 2002 and March 2003. On average, about 100 kg of rice is already owed to each worker under the scheme. Considering the low cash payment, the people and their families are highly dependent on this rice ration. It is reported that 584,5 tons of rice has been issued to the Local Marketing Inspector, out of which only 247 tons have been delivered further to the Gram Panchayats (village administrations). Even these 247 tons did not reach the people they were meant for: the total amount of missing rice comprises over 500 tons! Although the responsible inspector apologised on 26 April 2003 and promised to distribute the missing rice within a week, nothing has happened.  Furthermore, some district authorities have claimed that the "disappeared" rice, which was meant for the poor, is sold in the black market of the neighbouring states.

In Bharaich, U.P. displaced people have been denied BPL Ration Cards. Bharaich is one of the most backward districts of UP. Though it has rich natural resources in terms of water and forest, the main source of water, Ghaghra River, has been shifting its course since 2000. About 1200 families in the last 2 years have been displaced. The main           occupation of these families was agriculture but the river has submerged all their land. There is no land with the local Gram- panchayats for redistribution and the government is providing sandy land to the families for relocation. Since there are no forests or ponds in the area and no scope for labour, people do not want to settle there. Women are especially facing problems due to this situation. Since there is no opportunity for agriculture due to loss of land, people are solely dependent upon labour work for which they migrate to cities like Lucknow, Delhi, Ludhiana and Amritsar.  However, because of unavailability of labour even in these cities,  people are coming back empty handed. This has become the main cause of food insecurity. The displaced people have no grain. Some of them manage through either loan or labour work. Some displaced people take a loan for their food requirement. Since the loan provider is only local moneylender he has been lending money at the rate of Rs.10/hundred/month. Visthapit Sangharsh Morcha (a people's organisation for the displaced) with support of FIAN-U.P has been arranging meetings with victims for the identification of displaced families that are entitled to BPL cards and to create pressure on the government.

6. COMMISSIONER TO VISIT UTTAR PRADESH

Dr. N.C. Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, is about to spend a few days in Lucknow and surrounding areas, to investigate the food situation there. He is particularly concerned about Uttar Pradesh's failure to introduce mid-day meals in primary schools - a clear violation of Supreme Court orders. Dr. Saxena will be holding meetings with high-levels civil servants (including the Chief Secretary and the Secretary to the Chief Minister), as well as with individuals and organisations involved in the right to food campaign there. He will also be spending time in the field, notably in Barawan  (district Hardoi), where much has happened in recent months (see earlier Updates).

7. REMINDER: BHOPAL WORKSHOP ON UNDERNUTRITION AND STARVATION

"Hunger Watch Group", a group of medical professionals, will be organising a training workshop in Bhopal on 16-17 August. The participants will be learning and discussing rigorous methods of documenting "starvation deaths", developed recently by Hunger Watch Group. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr.  Abhay Shukla of CEHAT, who is one of the organisers of the meeting (cehatpun@vsnl.com).

8. WEBSITE UPGRADE

The campaign website (www.righttofood.com) has just been reloaded. The new version features an improved design, aimed at easier navigation, as well as a good deal of new material. Hindi  translations of the key documents are also being added regularly.  Some pages are still under construction, and we hope that you will bear with us until these pages become available. In case you have any comments or queries on the website, please drop in a line at: right2food@yahoo.co.in

UPDATE 19

 Dear friends,

 This is the first of a series of three updates aimed at briefing you on recent developments. This one contains reports of recent public hearings in Madhya  Pradesh and Orissa, and a selection of other items. The second one will focus on the right to work, and the third one on the work of the Supreme Court  Commissioners, Dr. Saxena and Mr. Sankaran. They will follow within a week.

 We are sending this Update in the shadow of the tragic demise of Dr. Om Shrivastava, an active member of the right to food campaign and one of  Rajasthan's finest activists. The last item is a brief tribute to his memory.

 Today's headlines:

1. Training workshop on documenting starvation deaths

2. Mr. Sankaran joins as Commissioner of the Supreme Court

3. Public hearing in Sendwa (M.P): Adivasis demand the right to work 

4. Public hearing in Shivpuri (M.P.): The Sahariya Predicament

5. Public hearing in Dindori (M.P.): On the spot redressal

6. Public hearing in Kerpai (Orissa)

7. Remembering Dr. Om Shrivastava

1.  TRAINING WORKSHOP ON DOCUMENTING STARVATION DEATHS

Each time a starvation death is reported, the concerned government is quick to repudiate the report and to invoke some disease or the other as the cause of death. Establishing that a death was due to starvation is a daunting task even for the professionals.The "Hunger Watch Group", a group of medical professionals, has been trying to develop rigorous methods of documenting starvation deaths.They are planning to organize a training workshop to disseminate and discuss the technique.  It is expected that such a systematic

documentation will  help in taking up the issue with the courts among other fora.

The participants will learn to document starvation deaths when they arise.  If you are interested in participating in the workshop, you can get in touch with Dr. Abhay Shukla of CEHAT who is one of the organisers of the meeting.  Abhay can be contacted at: cehatpun@vsnl.com

2.  MR SANKARAN JOINS AS COMMISSIONER OF THE SUPREME COURT

In its latest order (2 May 2003), the Supreme Court appointed Mr. S. R. Sankaran as "Commissioner" for the purpose of monitoring orders relating to the right to food. In this capacity, Mr. Sankaran will be collaborating with Dr. N.C. Saxena, who was appointed in a similar manner earlier and has been working for several months as

Commissioner of the Supreme Court. Thus, there will be two Commissioners from now on.

Mr S. R. Sankaran is a senior civil servant who retired as Secretary Rural Development, Government of India after a distinguished career. In recent years, he has been active in the Committee of Concerned Citizens (Hyderabad), convened "to bring people's aspirations and the right to live with dignity on the agenda of the Naxalite movements

and governments". He is based in Hyderabad and will be working from there.

3.  PUBLIC HEARING IN SENDWA (M.P.):  ADIVASIS DEMAND THE RIGHT TO

WORK

A lively public hearing took place in Sendwa (district Barwani, Madhya Pradesh) on 29 May 2003. The hearing focused on the right to work, corruption in relief programmes, and the use of labour-displacing machinery in public works. We are pasting a short report below, initially published in The Hindu on 1 June:

"Drought relief programmes in Madhya Pradesh came under heavy fire at the public hearing organised by Adivasi Mukti Sangathan, a grassroots organisation based in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh. Aside from rampant corruption in relief programmes, the hearing exposed the pervasive use of tractors on relief works. Tractors displace large numbers of labourers who have no alternative income-earning opportunities at this time, thus forcing them to migrate.

Over a thousand tribal women and men travelled from far and wide to participate in the hearing. Government officials were also invited, but they did not turn up. The testimonies were heard by a panel of experts chaired by Dr. B.D. Sharma, former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.  The hearing was also an opportunity to publicise and discuss recent Supreme Court orders relating to the right to food.

Witnesses presented about 10 specific testimonies of labour displacement by tractors on relief works. For instance, Ram Singh Bhai of Gagankhera village explained how a talab construction project employing some 35 workers lasted only three weeks because of the use of tractors. In the absence of tractors, he argued, the project might have lasted for three months or so. Indeed, Rs 4 lakhs had been sanctioned for this project, and had most of this been spent on labour, it could have generated at least 4,000 person-days of work, or 100 days of work for 40 labourers.

A similar story was heard from Gyan Singh of Piprani panchayat, where Rs 10 lakhs had been sanctioned for the construction of a small dam. With some 100 labourers employed, the project could have lasted for three months or so. However, the work was wound up in 6 weeks after tractors moved in.

The expert panel enquired about the reasons for this widespread displacement of labour by tractors on relief works. According to the witnesses, the "official" reason is that the works need to be completed well before the rains. However, it is hard to take this seriously when the work is completed in early March, as happened in Piprani, according to Gyan Singh. The real reason, he felt, is that tractor owners bribe the officials in charge of relief works to persuade them to hire their services.

In several cases, the labourers had attempted to oppose the use of tractors, with or without the support of Adivasi Mukti Sangathan. However, they felt vulnerable because protests often led to the immediate closure of relief works. The district collector, for his part, is looking the other way. He did not respond to a written complaint sent by registered post on 4 April by the Sangathan, and nor was he present, or even represented, at the hearing.

Corruption in relief works was another recurrent theme at the hearing. The participants shared the feeling that a large share of the money allocated to relief works in the area is appropriated by government officials and enterprising intermediaries. Some specific evidence was presented, for instance by the sarpanch of village Borli, who said that he had received only Rs 1.63 lakhs for relief works as against a sanctioned amount of Rs 2.32 lakhs. However, in most cases it seemed difficult to find conclusive evidence of corruption because the relevant records were jealously guarded by the administration. In spite of persistent representations to the relevant authorities, Adivasi Mukti Sangathan has made no headway in obtaining these records. Activists of the Sangathan have been made to run from pillar to post for weeks, without any result. This stonewalling jars with the reputation of openness and transparency enjoyed by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. When a local official was reminded about the right to information, he laughed and said that

these things exist only on paper.

In his questions to the witnesses, Dr. Sharma often enquired about the role of gram sabhas in relief works. He was disappointed to hear that the gram sabhas had little real control in these matters. In his concluding speech, he argued that nothing would improve until the gram sabhas were able to exercise the extensive powers they now enjoyin tribal areas under the constitution."

4. PUBLIC HEARING IN SHIVPURI (M.P.): THE SAHARIYA PREDICAMENT

Silently but effectively the drought has wrecked much damage in the Sahariya belt of western Madhya Pradesh.  The cattle population has been decimated, hunger is endemic and there have been many reports of starvation deaths.  Sambhav, an NGO that has been working for many years among the Sahariyas of the Gwalior-Chambal region, organised a

public hearing on 30 May 2003 in Shivpuri.

"The administration shows statistics of large-scale relief works, however, the participants of the jan sunwai had a different tale to tell" says Dr Singh of Sambhav in his account of the hearing.  "In Mohra- Habu for example, a pond was to be constructed for which Rs. 30,000 and 150 Quintals of wheat has been shown as distributed. The work went on only for six days and only 50 quintal wheat was distributed. No cash was paid.  There is no sign of activity now on the pond.  The trail of unfinished works and unpaid wages is indeed

long."  The hearing exposed many such problems in relief works.

According to the same report, the public hearing also uncovered many cases where people's entitlements were undermined due to poor implementation of policies. For example, schemes that provide maternity benefit and compensation in case of premature death of thebreadwinner, etc. are thoroughly underprovided by the Government of India. The National Maternity Benefit Scheme for example seeks to provide Rs. 500 for the first two live births of all women belowpoverty line.  But the budgetary provision for this is inadequate. The case of pensions and other compensations is similar.  The story of Bharo Lal's family was one of the 35 discussed at this publichearing.  Bharo Lal died of TB at the age of 20.  The Panchayat forwarded his family's case for support under the National Family Benefit Scheme. All the formalities have been met. It is now two years and nothing has happened. The case of Bharo Lal as well as lakhs of others all over the country will be silently buried, with the family not even getting to know what happened to the fate of

their applications.

Seventy-year-old Matura Bai was getting an old-age pension from 1999, but it stopped suddenly in 2001. Her trips to the sarpanch and to the block office have been fruitless. Everywhere in the country, we hear such stories of pensions stopping abruptly for reasons that the beneficiaries do not get to know.  

5. PUBLIC HEARING IN DINDORI (M.P.): ON-THE-SPOT REDRESSAL

Among other significant events in recent weeks is a public hearing held in the heart of the "Baigachak" of Dindori district (Madhya Pradesh) on 8 June, 2003. Baigachak is a thickly forested area inhabited mainly by the Baigas,  one of India's so-called "primitive tribes". The hearing was convened by Baiga Mahapanchayat, a local organisation modelled on traditional Baiga panchayats. The hearing focused mainly on the obstacles faced by Gram Panchayats in carrying out any development activity in the "forest villages", and on the

critical food security situation in the area after three successive years of drought.

A distinctive feature of this hearing was the presence of a range of senior government officials, including the District Collector, Additional Commissioner, District Forest Officer, Block Development Officer, among others. Moreover, the officials were in a conciliatory mood (partly because of the presence of Dr. Mihir Shah, Adviser to the Commissioners for Madhya Pradesh), and this prompted them to pass sweeping orders there and then. For instance, one of the main complaints of the participants, namely that the Forest Department did

not allow relief works in "forest villages", was immediately resolved as the District Forest Officer agreed to retract this embargo. Similarly, the District Collector agreed to ensure that all Baigas get Antyodaya cards within a month, as per the latest Supreme Court Order (2 May 2003). For a more detailed report on this effective

public hearing,  click here

6. PUBLIC HEARING IN KERPAI (ORISSA)

Another public hearing took place in Kerpai (Kalahandi district, Orissa) on 4 June 2003. Kerpai is the most remote panchayat of Kalahandi district. Public facilities in the area are dismal and hunger is endemic. The hearing was attended by hundreds of tribals from the surrounding villages as well as a few local government officials including the Block Development Officer and the Assistant Collector.

The concluding memorandum of this public hearing is an eloquent statement about the lack of basic facilities in one of India's most backward regions.  The basic facilities are either absent or dysfunctional.  The quality of education is so poor that only one person has ever passed matriculation in the entire Panchayat.  The health worker appointed for the Panchayat takes three months off for three days of work.  The little services that are available come at a substantial cost.  

Participants emphasised the lack of active system of monitoring and the abysmal response of the administration to their complaints. Complaints made after long treks to the Block office and the District headquarters are met with no response.  Against this background, the participants welcomed the opportunity to meet local officials face to face, on their own terms. The concluding memorandum was sent to the District Collector and other authorities, including the Chief Minister of Orissa. A recent communication from the CM's office indicates that the memorandum has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary "to initiate action".

7. REMEMBERING DR. OM SHRIVASTAVA

We are sorry to inform you that Dr. Om Shrivastava passed away on 15 June 2003 in a tragic accident.  "Om ji", as we knew him, was one of Rajasthan's finest activists and a founding member of Akal Sangharsh Samiti.

Dr. Shrivastava, a Ph.D from Canada in Adult Education, was 63. His areas of interest were mainly adult education, tribal welfare, human rights, women's empowerment, and adivasi rights to natural resources ("jal, jungle, jameen"). In 1986, he co-founded "Astha Sansthan", an Udaipur-based NGO best known for its contribution to the empowerment of adivasis in southern Rajasthan.  Om ji was also an active member of the right to food campaign in Rajasthan. Just a few hours before departing from this world, he was participating in a workshop on the right to work at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. Many of us spent three full days with him before he started on his fateful return journey to Udaipur.  We share our grief with his family and a large circle of friends.

UPDATE 18

PUBLIC HEARINGS GALORE (May 2003)

Dear friends,

The main purpose of this Update is to alert you to a series of "public hearings" that are coming up very soon in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa. These public hearings involve some of India's most marginalised communities, such as the Sahariyas and Baigas of Madhya Pradesh. In several cases, vested interests are working overtime to obstruct these creative initiatives to assert the right to food and work. This is particularly the case in Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan), where 16 activists have already landed in jail for instigating "a class war", as the District Collector put it. Please keep an eye on the campaign website (www.righttofood.com) for occasional reports of these events during the next two weeks.

Five public hearings are expected within the next two weeks: in Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan) on 28 May; in Sendhwa (Madhya Pradesh) on 29 May; in Shivpuri (M.P.) on 30 May; in Kalahandi (Orissa) on 4 June; and in Dindori (Madhya Pradesh) on or around 10 June. These five hearings span wide-ranging aspects of the right to food and work, including the nutrition situation among tribal communities, corruption in relief works, the predicament of "forest villages", the use of labour-displacing machines in public works programmes, and more.

We take this opportunity to copy below a note on "the importance of public hearings". This is lifted from the source book prepared for the public hearing on "Living with Hunger" convened in Delhi on 10 January 2003. Further material on the process and significance of public hearings will be added to the website quite soon. 

With this, we take you to today's headlines:

• Exposing Corruption in Relief Works: Public Hearing inChittaurgarh, Rajasthan (28 May 2003) 

• Against the use of Machines in 'Relief Works': Public Hearing in Barwani District, Madhya Pradesh(29 May 2003) 

• Sahariyas stand up for their Right to Life: Public Hearing in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh (30 May 2003) 

• Exploitation of Tribals: Public Hearing in Kalahandi(4 JUNE 2003) 

• Predicament of 'Primitve Tribes' and 'Forest Villages': Public Hearing in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh (June 2003)

• The importance of Public Hearings

1. Exposing Corruption in Relief Works: Public Hearing inChittaurgarh, Rajasthan (28 May 2003)

On Wednesday 28 May, a public hearing will be held in village Karjali of Chittaurgarh district (Rajasthan). The main objective of this public hearing is to expose corruption in relief works.

This public hearing is convened by PRAYAS, a local NGO with a long-standing record of grassroots activism in the area. The initiative has been staunchly opposed by local sarpanchs. Forty of them have formed a coalition to scuttle the hearing. Among other obstruction tactics, they have appealed to the District Collector, who sent a letter to the organisers asking them not to hold the hearing and accusing them of instigating a "class war" in the area. Sixteen activists have recently been arrested and are still in jail. However, the hearing is expected to take place in spite of these hurdles and intimidation tactics.

The hearing is due to start at 11 am on 28 May. Karjali is 43 kms away from Chittaurgarh. For further details, please contact Khem Raj (PRAYAS) at 01472-243 788.

2. Against the use of Machines in 'Relief Works': Public Hearing in Barwani District, Madhya Pradesh (29 May 2003)

Adivasi Mukti Sangathan has been working in Barwani district for many years, and the right to work is high on the organisation's agenda. The sangathan has recently taken up issues related to the implementation of Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) in Sendhwa Block and nearby areas. In a nexus of issues wages are being paid late, labour is illegally being displaced by machines, and Sarpanches are victimised by Junior Engineers in evaluation procedures, etc. Prime among these problems is the use of labour-displacing machines in SGRY projects. This practice is illegal and also runs contrary to the very idea of providing employment. But it is a convenient way to make money for the contractors who take up large programmes. In Madhya Pradesh, programmes costing over Rs. 5 lakhs are not executed by the Panchayats. These are handled by various departments including the Rural Engineering Services, Irrigation Department, Forest Department, etc. Many of these programmes are large in scale. The lack of transparency in these programmes have enabled these departments to carry out much of the work using tractors, JCVs, and other labour-displacing machinery. 

The public hearing is seen as a means to bring out these issues and at the same time, be a platform for further action in the near future. It is expected that participants will also come from various neighbouring districts for the hearing. For further details, please contact Vijay Bhai at 07281-222184.  

3. Sahariyas stand up for their Right to Life: Public Hearing in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh (30 May 2003)

There has been active mobilisation among the Sahariyas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in recent months. In Shahbad (Baran district, Rajasthan), Jagrat Mahila Sangathan organised a very successful indefinite dharna against sexual exploitation and police violence at the end of April, which led to the dismissal of the local tehsildar. This success paved the way to a huge Sahariya Sammelan on 18 May, which gave a major boost to the right to work campaign in Rajasthan. In Sheopur district, on the other side of the Rajasthan-MP border, Sahariyas have participated in large numbers in dharnas, rallies and other agitations initiated by Ekta Parishad. On 1 May (Labour Day), an all-night "Sahariya panchayat" took place in Sheopur, with participation from 65 villages.

Much has also happened in the neighbouring districts of Morena, Shivpuri, Gwalior, etc. On 30 May, a public hearing on the right to food will be held in Pohri block of Shivpuri district, one of the most deprived areas of this impoverished and drought-stricken region. This event is convened by SAMBHAV, a local NGO. Details are awaited, meanwhile the organisers can be contacted through the SAMBHAV office in Gwalior (tel/fax 0751-341995/511379, e-mail (sambhavgwr@hotmail.com).

4. Exploitation of Tribals: Public Hearing in Kalahandi (4 JUNE 2003)

A public hearing will be held in Kerpai panchayat of Kalahandi district (Orissa) on 4 June 2003. This is a follow-up to earlier activities, including several public hearings, initiated in this area by Lok Adhikar Sammukhya, ANTODAY and other organisations based in Kalahandi. Kerpai is the most remote panchayat of Kalahandi, itself of a highly marginalized region. Findings a detailed survey of the food situation in Kerpai, including the status of recent Supreme Court orders, will be presented at the hearing. Special guests include Prof. Pulin Nayak, head of the Department of Economics at the Delhi School of Economics. For further details, please contact Rajkishor Mishra (tel 06670-231075 or 9437047270, e-mail(rajkishor_mishra@hotmail.com) or Dillip (tel 06670-232038 or 9437070038).

5. Predicament of 'Primitve Tribes' and 'Forest Villages': Public Hearing in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh (June 2003)

The Baigas, a so-called "primitive tribe", live in desperate conditions in the Mandla-Dindori region of Madhya Pradesh. An organisation of the Baigas, the BAIGA MAHAPANCHAYAT, is working in the "Baigachak" area of Dindori district. They are addressing problems such as:

1. The communal attack on Baiga culture; 

2. The obstacles being faced by Gram Panchayats in carrying out any development activity in the "forest villages"; 

3. The critical food security situation of the Baigas following 3 successive years of drought.

The Baiga Mahapanchayat will hold a public hearing on all these issues in Dindori district during the second week of June (tentatively on 10 June, 2003). A large number of sarpanches, Janpad and Zila Panchayat members are likely to gather to voice their grievances. It is learned that the Baiga Mahapanchayat retains the trust and the faith of all elected Panchayat representatives. Expected participants include a panel of eminent academics and Dr. Mihir Shah, advisor to the Commissioner in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Digvijay Singh, has also been invited and there is a good chance that he will attend the hearing. For further details, please contact the organisers via Mihir Shah (samprag@sify.com).

6. The importance of Public Hearings

Public hearings (jan sunwais) are a useful tool of assertion of the right to food. They help to make people aware of their entitlements, to expose corruption in food-related programmes, and to hold the state accountable to its responsibilities.

Many public hearings have been held in 2002 as part of the Right to Food Campaign, notably in Shankargarh (UP) on 9 April, Palamau (Jharkhand) on 9 July, Kalahandi (Orissa) on 22 October, and Kelwada (Rajasthan) on 4 December. These gatherings serve at least five distinct purposes:

Voice: Jan sunwais give ordinary citizens an opportunity to share their experiences and voice their concerns. In particular, the process enables them to identify and convey the flaws of food-related programmes. One such example, which was stressed in many jan sunwais, is the faulty selection of BPL households. Recent jan sunwais also brought to light many violations of Supreme Court orders: in Kalahandi, for instance, people were getting only 16 kg of rice from the PDS as opposed to the 35 kg ordered by the Supreme Court. By giving all sides a platform to put forth their understanding of the problem, the public hearing is also a tool to remove these anomalies and identify coherent alternatives.

Accountability: The public nature of the event, magnified by wide participation and media interest, makes it very difficult for governments to dodge criticism, as they routinely do when disadvantaged people seek redress on their own. At the Palamau hearing the BDO, who generally is available only twice a week in Manatu, had no alternative but to participate as thousands of villagers descended on the block headquarters. At the Kelwada jan sunwai, attended by more than 30 IAS officers, government officials were confronted with a detailed and accurate picture of ground realities. The local BDO took active part in the process and helped to address the problems identified at the public hearing.  

Mobilisation: The testimonies heard at the hearing provide a strong basis for follow-up enquiries and redressal. The Palamau hearing ended with a resolve to follow up the event with concerted action in the future. The interest it fosters among local officials, media persons, political leaders, social activists and others can also be channelled towards further action. The Campaign has used them to place the issue at the centre of mainstream political debate. As a result of the surveys and public hearings, the Supreme Court pulled up those states that were being slack in implementation of the Courts' orders.

Empowerment: A public hearing is an opportunity for people to realise that things need not continue the way they are. It gives them a sense of their collective power and of the possibility of change. Public hearings also alert government officials and vested interests to the fact that people are waking up and getting organised. Recent public hearings in Shankargarh, Palamau, Kelwada and other deprived areas generated considerable enthusiasm and hope among dalits, adivasis and other disadvantaged communities.

Education: Last but not least, jan sunwais are a form of political education. They give the participants new insights into processes and institutions that are normally beyond their reach. A public hearing is also a practical form of people's participation in the democratic process. This experience of "learning by doing" is a step towards participatory democracy.

UPDATE 17

Supreme Court orders doubling of SGRY in summer (May 2003)

Dear Friends, 

The preceding update contained the latest order of the Supreme Court, dated 2 May 2003 (if you missed it, see the campaign website, www.righttofood.com). This is an important order, which includes potentially far-reaching measures such as the doubling of employment creation for an initial period of three months, and the inclusion of specific groups in the Antyodaya programme. For those interested in the details of the hearing, we copy below (item 4) an informal summary of the court proceedings. 

The right to food campaign is based on the realisation that court orders may not accomplish much on their own, if they are not backed by public pressure. This is particularly applicable to the new court order, especially the direction on employment creation. The order takes immediate effect and administrative, logistic and other arrangements should be made and projects should be implemented by the end of July. The states have to wait for the allocations to be made and carry out the projects. Government of India is likely to put spanner in the wheels, and other stumbling blocks may come in the way. All these point out to the need for backing the court's directions with public pressure. 

Intensive lobbying is already on in many states, to ensure that the additional resources are generated and utilised. Please consider disseminating this order widely (after translation in local language if necessary), with a sense of urgency. Other possible follow-up activities include sending delegations to the state officials; local meetings with the district collector et al; asking groups and individuals to write/fax the CM asking him to ensure that employment is doubled; asking agricultural labour unions to petition for work and a host of other activities. Needless to say, time is of the essence. 

The latest order also gave a boost to the "right to work" activities, which are expected to intensify in the months to come. Two of them are covered in this update (see items 1 and 2). We also present below (item 3) a short comment from Dr N C Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, on the issue of use of labour-displacing machinery on public works, including SGRY. Dr Saxena is gearing up to take measures to curb the use of machines in public works, and is seeking support for this from organisations and individuals involved in the campaign. He is also advocating more radical measures to ensure that machines are not used in any public works including railways, highways, etc. when the work can be done by labour. 

Before we go to the headlines, we request you to help us publicise the latest court order widely. The following documents are available on the campaign website for dissemination: 

THE ORDER

SUMMARY OF THE ORDER

HINDI TRANSLATION OF THE ORDER

TODAY'S HEADLINES: 

• 'Sangharsh Sabha' Appeals to Trade Unions to take up Right to Work 

• Plans for Massive Rally Plans in Jaipur to Press for an Employment Guarantee Act(13 June, 2003) 

• Commissioner's Campaign against use of Labour-Displacing Machines in Public Works

•  

• Notes from the Supreme Court Hearing on May 1, 2003

1. 'Sangharsh Sabha' Appeals to Trade Unions to take up Right to Work

In the special update on the week of action on right to work, we had given you a quick update on AIDWA'S "sangharsh sabha". The full report of the sabha can now be accessed Here 

The sangharsh sabha came out with the following as their main demands: 

1. Universalisation of the Public Distribution system. The right to cheap foodgrain through a strengthened rationing system be made a fundamental right.  

2. As an interim measure all BPL card holders to be given foodgrain at Rs. 3 per kg rice and Rs. 2 per kg wheat (Antyodaya scheme prices). All widows, single adult women, disabled persons, persons over the age of sixty and female headed families, regardless of whether they have BPL cards or not, to be given immediate access to grain at these prices.  

3. Ration quotas to be individual based not family based.  

4. The right to work be made a fundamental right. Guaranteed employment scheme with minimum wages and parity between men and women. The earlier provision for minimum 30 per cent of workdays generated for women, to be implemented.  

5. The foodgrain component of all employment related schemes, including food for work schemes, to be calculated at current Antyodaya prices.  

6. A radical change in measurements of poverty, to include other factors such as malnourishment and percentages of family income spent on food requirements as well as collection of gender-segregated data 

The sabha has also sent a call to various trade unions that are planning an all India strike on May 21, 2003. To quote the report: "The sangharsh sabha gave a call to intensify the struggle at all levels. It extended full support to the May 21 all India strike call by trade unions and called on women to organize rasta rokos and gheraos of FCI godowns and Central Government offices, to add the two main demands for a new food policy [detailed above] and for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill."  

2. Plans for Massive Rally Plans in Jaipur to Press for an Employment Guarantee Act(13 June, 2003) 

With elections coming in Rajasthan in a few months, groups in Rajasthan are sparing no efforts to mobilise for an employment guarantee in Rajasthan. A systematic campaign has been on for the past few months where in groups have reached out to people about the right to work across the state. We have kept you updated of these efforts.  

As a part of this ongoing mobilisation, a massive rally is being planned in Jaipur on June 13, 2003 to press for an employment guarantee act. The mobilisation is being complemented with dialogue with the government, background research and efforts at information dissemination about employment guarantee. Various groups are working in tandem to look at costs of employment guarantee and developing a model Employment Guarantee Act. The Budget Analysis Research Centre in Jaipur has been taking the initiative on estimating the cost of an employment guarantee for Rajasthan. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan among others are working on a model "Right to work Bill". We will keep you updated on these from time to time, some initial materials about right to work is available already in our website (www.righttofood.com), in the right to work section.  

"Talwar nahin, trishul nahin, kam ka adhikar chahiye" (neither trishul nor talwar, we want the right to work) has been one of the key slogans of the campaign in Rajasthan. The campaign has been trying to creatively canalise the energy of the masses into positive ventures like the right to work, and away from the `campaign of hatred' being promoted by the VHP and other right wing groups. 

We are certain that there is much more to report from Rajasthan and other places, given the intensity of the campaign today. Unfortunately, despite the strong links we have in the state, the flow of information is quite lax. We request all of you to share with us information on your campaign activities so that we can gain inspiration from each other.  

The campaign for right to work is taking a significant new turn with the demand for labour intensive practices in public works. One person who has been advocating this is Dr Saxena (Commissioner of the Supreme Court), who has contributed a small passage for the update, which is the next item in this update…  

3. Commissioner's Campaign against use of  Labour-Displacing Machines in Public Works  

The paradox of using labour displacing machines on the one hand and creating special employment programmes on the other has been on for a long time now. While using labour intensive processes in all public works must be thought of, machines are being used even in SGRY works. Dr Saxena has contributed the following paragraph highlighting this paradox: 

"In flagrant violation of the guidelines, in many States projects are being executed by using excavators, trucks and tractors instead of more labour intensive approaches. This is being done with full knowledge of the senior officials. For example in one of the study (Deshingkar and Johnson 2002) in Krishna district - out of 54 works, excavators were employed in 40 cases. Poclaines (the trade name for a kind of earth excavator) are becoming the preferred machine for undertaking a variety of village works through all kinds of programmes from the point of view of the rich who own the machines and hire them out for public works. One Poclaine can displace 17x8 persons in an eight hour day (at 17 person-days per hour), whereas it costs Rs 800 to hire a Poclaine for an hour. The ideal policy should be to discourage its use even by construction Ministries, such as Railways and CPWD, and compensate them financially to build incentives for employing more manual labour. However, the reverse is happening. Not only labour is being displaced in the so-called employment, food meant for the poor is sold in the market, thus distorting market for farmers." 

4. Notes from the Supreme Court Hearing on May 1, 2003 

[What follows is an informal, partial summary of the proceedings of the Supreme Court of 1 May, 2003. It is based on notes taken by observers at the hearing.]  

May 1st was the last day the Supreme Court was to hear cases in detail (the last non-miscellaneous day) before it went for a summer break. The right to food litigation came up with just ten minutes to go for the lunch break. A new bench headed by Justice Sabharwal indicated that we should take up issues that are urgent for summer. In his quick and efficient opening remarks, Adv. Colin Gonsavles outlined priority issues for summer, which paved the way for a detailed discussion that continued thru the noon.  

When hearing began, Justice Sabharwal remarked that "this is the most important petition we are dealing with" and asked the states and the Government of India to take this petition with `all the seriousness it deserved'. Having looked at the responses of the states on various issues, including mid-day meals, the bench remarked, "We never get to hear of politicians making political statements saying they cannot provide basic amenities. But when it comes to the affidavits provided to the Supreme Court, they always say they don't have money"!  

The counsel for the petitioner, Adv. Colin Gonsalves indicated that the government had been exporting massive quantities of grain, amounting to about 19 million tonnes in the past two years, at almost BPL prices. This is done to pull the rug under the feet of people who argue that relief works must be expanded since large quantities of grain are lying idle in public godowns.  

Colin laid out the important issues that needed to be dealt with expediently. These issues included:  

IMPLEMENTING THE FAMINE CODES: These are administrative codes that all the states have and they indicate the kind of activity the governments have to take up during periods of scarcity. The petitioner mentioned the issue of implementing famine codes in the early stages of the case. The bench asked if there were any replies from the states on the issue, but unfortunately, no replies were filed by either the Government of India or the states.  

The counsel for Government of India told the Supreme Court that the codes do not pertain to the centre but pertain to the states alone. But he said that the answer to the problems from the Government of India is SGRY, or provision of employment. The bench remarked that the codes are of much greater significance than the SGRY scheme for it provides for declaration of drought, for provision of relief to the destitute and takes up a wider range of issues. Justice Sabharwal added that he was unhappy that the Government of India had not replied to an application filed much earlier by the petitioner on relief codes. He said that he is not willing to accept general statements by the counsel and would prefer to listen to factual statements provided to the court in the form of affidavits. 

AN ORDER WAS SUBSEQUENTLY PASSED THAT ENFORCED THE FAMINE CODES AND DIRECTED THE GOVERNMENTS TO FOLLOW THE CODES TO PROVIDE DROUGHT RELIEF.

UPDATE 16

Landmark Order by Supreme Court (May 2003)

Dear friends,

This is to alert you to a new and crucial Supreme Court order, dated 2 May 2003, which has just been officially released. The full text of the order is given below, and is also posted on the website (www.righttofood.com). A Hindi translation will be posted on the website within a day or two.

Among the major directions included in this order are: (1) doubling of grain and cash allocations for India's main employment programme (SGRY) for an initial period of three months, and (2) addition of six specific groups (including "widows without support", "primitive tribes", etc.) in the Antyodaya programme of food-based social security. These directions are potentially very important, especially for drought-affected areas. As always, however, they may not be implemented unless there is sustained public pressure at all levels.

Please consider taking up this issue in your own area of influence.

It is particularly important to ensure that the expansion of SGRY does take place mmediately. Relief works tend to come to a standstill with the monsoon rains; if the expansion of SGRY allocations is to be effective, it has to happen very soon. This requires pressure on both the central government (to release the grain and cash) and the state governments (to utilize the allocations).

The new order is also significant in that it signals a new perspective on the whole matter (perhaps associated with the changed composition of the Bench). For instance, it contains an explicit reference to the "right to food", and links Article 21 (on the right to life) with Article 47 (on nutrition and health as primary duties of the state).

Further updates on this and other matters, especially the right to work, will follow soon.

TO READ THE ORDER PLEASE CLICK HERE

UPDATE 15: Special Update on Right to Work

Dear Friends,

The national week of action on right to work has begun with activities taking off in various states. To update you quickly of the background, over 50 organisations met after the public hearing "living with hunger" organised in Delhi. It was decided in the meeting that we should organise a week of action on right to work. The demand, by no means, is a new one. Many organisations expressed a desire to move towards right to work at the "Asian Social Forum", for example. In fact there was an active campaign for the right to work as long back as late `80s and early `90s. The campaign managed to put right to work firmly in the political agenda of the then ruling National Front. But for the untimely fall of the government, one would have gotten much closer to an employment guarantee. We include a `flash-back' of the campaign as a part of our special update on right to work.

As you would notice below, plans are afoot in various states including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi and Orissa. These are activities that have come to our notice. More events are in store positively that have not come to our notice yet.

The right to work in the form of an Employment Guarantee Scheme, or an Employment Guarantee Act runs as a common thread to these events. Beyond that there are marked diversities of concerns. Right to work as a means of avoiding child labour is a theme in Karnataka. Bonded labour, access to non-timber forest products, and migration are themes in Orissa. AIDWA's `Sangarsh sabha' gave the pride of place to `cheap grains' along with work, while putting the emphasis on the importance of right to work for women. West Bengal would concentrate on right to work for rural labourers with an emphasis on involving Panchayats. Drought and a proactive alternative to communal politics are the prime concerns in Rajasthan.

To look at the week of action in perspective, we should remember that it is not a one shot piece of action. Much has preceded it and much more is to come in the following months. It is worth recalling the "day of action on mid-day meals" in this juncture. The day of action organised on April 9, 2002 helped in putting mid-day meals in the agenda of various groups across the nation. It has since been followed with regular campaign activities in many states. We hope that the week of action on right to work would also lead to sustained campaign for the right to work across the country. We will keep you posted about these activities, but for the moment, let us turn our attention to activities on this week…

1. Campaign Plans in:

• West Bengal

• Karnataka

• Rajasthan

• Madhya Pradesh

• Orissa

2. Campaign Plan of the Commissioner

3. AIDWA demands Right to Work

4. Flashback into the Right to Work Campaign of the 80's

5. The Missing Pieces

Chattisgarh and Jharkhand

1. CAMPAIGN PLANS IN VARIOUS STATES

1. 1 WEST BENGAL

Constituents of the West Bengal Network will organise programmes in their own locality during the week and will culminate with a common public gathering on the 30th of April at Sealdah station in Kolkata. A deputation to the meet the Chief Minister is being planned to demand Right to Work and an employment guarantee act The Ganatantrik Adhikar Rakhsa Samity is organising a deputation to the DM of North 24 Parganas. Besides this, the Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) and the Shramajibee Mahila Samity (SMS) are organising a series of street corner meeting before and during the week. During the week, they are organising Khula Manch at various places. 20 such programmes are planned in three districts of West Bengal. The Panchayat elections in West Bengal are being held on 11th May 2003. The PBKMS and SMS has therefore invited candidates of all political parties for the Panchayat elections and important political leaders and respected local citizens to place their views at these Khula Manch. They have been asked to give their views on the state of implementation of the Supreme Court order and on the need for legislation on the Right to Work for rural labour. Voters of the area have also been invited so that they can raise questions about the Supreme Court orders' implementation. In the month of March, the PBKMS and SMS had organised about 60-65 camps in various villages to receive complaints on non-implementation of the Supreme Court order. A report on the complaints from the area in which the Khula Manch is being held shall also be presented at each Khula Manch and the candidates, political leaders and other local citizens shall be asked to comment on the same.A workshop was also held in mid April with three theatre teams from the PBKMS and SMS and a tarja group (a popular folk form). The theatre teams and the tarja group have repared special performances on the Supreme Court order and the Right to work. These performances will take place at most of the programmes being held in this week by the Network and PBKMS and SMS. 

1.2 KARNATAKA 

The programmes in Karnataka warm up with a series of information sharing workshops on EGA. Each day, a different group will be targeted – youth, women, NGOs, Self Help Groups, and children. The events here take a different turn with an emphasis on Employment Guarantee to prevent child labour. The highlight of the week leading to May 1 will be a `child labour rally' at Yashwantpura, Bangalore. These events will be capped with a rally in front of `Vidhan Saudha' (the legislative assembly) on May 1. The rally will draw participants from all over the state. Similar events are also being organised in some Districts, of which we hope to hear soon. 

Preceding these events, much preparation has gone including working with the National Law School to work on an employment guarantee act for Karnataka; preparing songs and other cultural events, and in reaching out to a large number of groups to support an Employment Guarantee Act. 

1.3 RAJASTHAN 

The week of action has been preceded by much activity in Rajasthan. Elaborate `padaytras', `dharanas', rallies and other activities have been done in different parts of the state already. During the week of action per se, the main activity would be organised on May Day.

Constituents of Akal Sangarsh Samiti will organise various activities including reaching out to the villages about employment guarantee, organising rallies at the district level, meetings, public hearings and a host of other activities. Many of them will also be organising activities during the week highlighting the need for an employment guarantee. 

The plan of action continues well beyond the week of action. During 1 – 20 May, there are plans to get resolutions passed in Gram sabhas and ward sabhas on right to work. The organisations will endeavour also to reach out to politicians and administrators at various levels to submit petitions for an employment guarantee. Each organisation will undertake to approach the local Panchayat samiti, zilla parishad to demand the guarantee. People will be encouraged to write post cards to the chief minister demanding an employment guarantee.

Finally, efforts will be made to press the Government of India for a centrally sponsored employment guarantee programme.

A massive rally is being planned on June 13 at Jaipur to mount pressure on the government to go for an employment guarantee. Keeping the urgency of drought in mind, the groups have also decided to press for open-ended employment during the month of June in Rajasthan. 

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has been actively engaged in the campaign for right to work and has organised various activities already. This year, right to work will form the chief issue of their May Day celebration. Their annual "Mazdoor Mela" (labour mela) will be organised in Bhim, Rajasthan. The event will be marked by songs, and skits, films and discussions, speeches and resolutions. Strategies will be examined for the Right to Work Campaign in general, and the specific and immediate demand for an Employment Guarantee Act in Rajasthan. 

The fact that this is an election year has affected the campaign in Rajasthan in a couple of significant ways. One, the campaign has intensified and a larger mobilisation is expected given the opportunity to put pressure on the polity. The second consideration has been the growth of communal politics. The campaign for the right to work is seen as a proactive means for keeping the electoral discussions on issues that matter and thus reduce the space available for communal politics. This is reflected eloquently in the theme slogan for the May Day celebration of MKSS "Trishul nahin, Talwar nahin, kam ka adhikar chahiye". This has also been the slogan of many other organisations in Rajasthan this year. The occasion will be used to finalise the draft of "people's manifesto" for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. 

1.4 MADHYA PRADESH 

Pockets of activity are being planned in different parts of Madhya Pradesh. Unfortunately we do not have detailed information about them. The Right to Food Campaign per se has been gradually stepping up in the state since the past few months. In a meeting convened during 22 – 23 Feb, it was decided by the participating groups that they would organise events in at least 10 Panchayats each during the week of action. This was reinforced in a recent meeting at Indore where various organisations from across Madhya Pradesh participated. Some of them have undertaken to organise events on May Day. We hope to bring you more detailed information shortly about the plans in the state. 

1.5 ORISSA

The Malkangiri leg of right to food - right to work campaign, will hold a `camp court' to release the identified bonded labour in the district. Awareness camps will be held in villages on the Bonded Labour Abolition Act as a part of the week of action. This will culminate in a Bonded labour convention at the district headquarter where release certificates will be provided to the freed bonded persons and demand will be placed in front of district administration for their right to work and long term rehabilitation. The convention was originally planned as a `May day' activity, but has been advanced to April 30th for logistical reasons. 

Identifying bonded labour has been happening at a campaign scale in Malkangiri and it is the first district in Orissa to complete the process of identifying bonded labour. The process is happening in collaboration of ActionAid and the district administration. It is hoped that right to work will be one of the means employed for rehabilitating bonded labour. 

Further activities include release of report on food insecurity status based on studies in Kalahandi, Bolangir and Nuapada. A public hearing is being organised on 29th April in Sambalpur on wages for picking Kendu leaves. This is an activity that many poor women in western and southern Orissa depend on. Kendu leaf is a non-timber forest product, the collection of which is contracted to specific agencies. These agencies have been able to exploit the poor by regulating their access to forests. The public hearing would concentrate on "payment of timely, equal minimum wages". Another public hearing is to be held in Thuamul Rampur block on issues of hunger. 

On 1st May, a public hearing would take place at Kantabanji in Bolangir on distress migration and exploitation of migrant wage workers in western Orissa in general and Bolangir in particular. This will be followed by a state level workshop on May 4, 2003 at Bubaneshwar. This would be an occasion for sharing the results from various public hearings that were held as a part of week of action across the state. 

2. CAMPAIGN PLAN OF THE COMMISSIONER! 

The commissioner, Dr N C Saxena, is on a campaign track himself, though not as a part of the week of action. He is taking up the issue of use of machines in employment sites. Large-scale use of machines has been reported from Andhara Pradesh among other places. One Poclaine (the trade name of an excavator) can displace about 800 man-hours of employment in a day. The use of labour displacing machines is illegal in relief work sites, but this continues to happen in various places. Based on a complaint from Madhya Pradesh, an enquiry is being ordered into the use of machines in certain sites in Barwani district. Similar action is being taken on Krishna district of Andhara Pradesh where large-scale use of Poclaines has been reported. Complemented with active civil society vigilance, an active campaign could be started to eliminate the use of machines in SGRY and other employment programmes. 

Another measure under consideration is to ask governments to promote labour intensive techniques in public works. Remarking that even in small states about Rs. 100 crores is being spent on excavators each year, Dr Saxena has been remarking about the potential for creating additional employment at little cost. On many occasions following labour intensive techniques would not even lead to additional costs. The combined displacement of labour is potentially staggering if a combined estimate of displacement is considered in departments including public works department, rural engineering services, irrigation, national highways project, and a host of other such public works. If taken up by the commissioner, it would add a significant colour to the campaign in time to come. 

3. AIDWA DEMANDS RIGHT TO WORK

AIDWA organised its massive "Sangharsh Sabha" at Mavalankar Hall in Delhi. AIDWA has been pursuing the agenda of `Universal PDS' on a campaign track for many months now. The slogan of the massive gathering of well over a thousand women was "We want cheap grains and work". Women from all over the country participated in this one-day meeting and they were joined by a host of public figures including Harkishan Sing Surjeet, Capt. Lakshmi Shegal, Prof. Abhijeet Sen among others. 

Prof. Abhijit Sen, who chaired the committee on `Long term grain policy', asked the gathering in a humorous vein why he has been invited, after all he was someone who chaired a `sarkari committee'! He went on to reiterate that many of the days demands were also reiterated by the committee viz. universal PDS, increasing the employment opportunities, expanding Antyodaya Anna Yojana for the destitute, etc. 

AIDWA's `Sangarsh Sabha' was possibly the only reflection of the demand for right to work in the Capital during the week of action. In a short while, we should be able to share the full report of the gathering as well as other such things that are happening round the country. 

4. A FLASHBACK INTO THE RIGHT TO WORK CAMPAIGN OF `80s 

Late `80s and early `90s were a witness to an active campaign for the right to work inspired by the Employment Guarantee scheme of Maharashtra. The campaign was active across the country with hundreds of participating organisations. Many participants during that period are taking an active part in week of action that is on currently. 

Some of the notable events organised as a part of the campaign were a massive rally of about two lakh people in March 1988 in Delhi, a national convention in 1990 where about 300 organisations participated, and a host of activities organised at the local level by various groups. The convention led to a Right to work struggle front with the intention of campaigning for a national legislation on right to work. A memorandum prepared at the convention for the then finance minister, Mr. Madhu Dhandavate included the following points:

1. A change in government's economic policy in favour of labour and fostering labour-intensive methods 

2. Assigning highest priority to agriculture and rural development by allocating 50 % (as opposed to 22%) of government's investible resources. 

3. Promoting labour intensive small scale industries 

4. Reverting all common properties in rural areas to village community for control and utilisation for employment generation. 

5. Effective and speedy land reforms 

6. Using 20 % of Eighth plan financial outlay for an employment guarantee programme.

The campaign succeeded in making right to work the prime agenda of the National Front government that was formed under V P Singh. The plan may well have materialised but for the fall of the government. The change in government undermined a lot of work that had happened already, pushing back the efforts of the campaign by some years. The campaign has successfully promoted awareness about the Employment Guarantee Scheme of Maharashtra and about using this form of employment being an effective means of securing the right to food and promoting rural development. It should also be recognised that this campaign was among the pioneers in taking the `right based approach'. It clearly articulated the advantage of right to work over typical employment programmes. Today the `right based approach' has gained more adherents. We pay a tribute to the work done over a decade ago and hope that the week of action on right to work will take over where the campaign was left a few years ago. 

5. THE MISSING PIECES

A fairly broad set of organisations are actively involved in the week of action, but support for it extends well beyond those who are currently organising the events. National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and its constituents, for example, have taken up right to work as one of their agenda. This was also formally endorsed in their national meeting on March 28 at Lucknow. A large number of other organisations have endorsed the need for a campaign on right to work. It is expected that many of them would take up activities in the months to come for the right to work. 

Much effort has gone into getting the complete picture of what is happening where regarding the campaign. We are aware that there will be many gaps and much activity is not represented in this mail. We request you to kindly inform us of activities that we have missed in this mailer. We are committed to bring as complete information as possible to you regarding activities around the country. We will cover other events in another special update before the 1st of May. 

5.1 CHATTISGARH & JHARKHAND 

For the groups in Chattisgarh, the "week of action" is as long as 12 days! Elaborate plans are being made in different parts of the state during May 1 – May 12 as a part of the "week of action". We will bring you up to date information in the next update about the plans and activities in Chattisgarh. 

Plans for taking up the issue of right to work on a long-term basis is on earnestly in Jharkhand. Events are to be organised in at least three different districts in full scale and a state level meeting will be organised at Ranchi on May 1st. 

News about Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and other states are expected to reach us soon. In the meanwhile, we request you to inform us if you are planning something in your respective areas so that we can disseminate it within May 1 for the benefit of all our co-campaigners.

UPDATE 14 

Two years of PIL on Right to Food and one year after Action Day on Mid-Day Meals

Dear Friends,

Two anniversaries are happening this month. PUCL (Rajasthan) filed its petition in the Supreme Court in April 2001, just two years ago. This “public interest litigation” (PIL) on the right to food has become widely known across the country and beyond. The right to food campaign itself is an outgrowth of this litigation. The second anniversary is of the first major action of the right to food campaign – the “national day of action on mid-day meals” of 9 April, 2002. This is a good opportunity to look back at the events of the last two years and evaluate the progress of the campaign. In this connection we’d like to draw your attention to the third report of the Commissioner, Dr. N.C. Saxena, submitted to the Supreme Court a few days ago (see item 3 below).

Much is happening on the “right to work” front, particularly in connection with the forthcoming “week of action on the right to work”, ending on 1 May, 2003. Further details on this will follow in the next update, to be sent very soon (see also the campaign website, www.righttofood.com, especially the new section on the right to work). Meanwhile, this update covers other recent developments.

The headlines:

1. AIDWA Dharna (24 April 2003)

2. Supreme Court Hearing Postponed

3. Third Report of the Commissioner

4. Madhya Pradesh: Campiagn stepped up

5. Uttar Pradesh: RTF Consultation, 10 May 2003

6. Your Plans for the Week of Action

1. AIDWA DHARNA (24 April, 2003)

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) is planning a major dharna “for the right to work and a universal PDS” on 24 April, 2003. AIDWA’s announcement follows:

“As part of its ongoing campaign against hunger, for universalisation of the right to cheap food through the public distribution system and for work, the All India Democratic Women's Association is organising a dharna in New Delhi on April 24 in which women from different States are likely to participate. The AIDWA had held demonstrations and street actions in 20 States in the last six months on the above demands. In some areas AIDWA has been able to win some immediate relief for women like employment in Government schemes, BPL or Antyodaya cards. However the experience of the campaign highlights very clearly the reality that the targeted food system is intrinsically flawed, is an exclusionary system in a country where the vast majority of the people require food subsidies. Therefore the issue of universalisation of the right to food is a focus in the AIDWA campaign. This is even more essential given the drastic and long-term effects of the drought situation and hunger created by the retreat of the Government from its minimum responsibilities of provision of work. Another experience in the campaign has been the information of the deteriorating status of women as a result of hunger such as working for wages less than earlier, leave alone the minimum wage, deterioration in health status, increase in violence against poor women.

All these issues will be highlighted in the dharna. You are invited to join. For further details please contact our central office at 011-23710476, 23319566 or through e-mail aidwa@ndb.vsnl.net.in.”

A follow-up invitation, just received from Subhashini Ali (President, AIDWA) and Brinda Karat (General Secretary, AIDWA), states:

“This is to invite you to a Sangharsh Sabha and dharna on April 24 at Mavalankar Hall Grounds, Rafi Marg, New Delhi as part of the ongoing AIDWA organized struggle for regular employment and low-priced foodgrains. The dharna raises the demand for universalisation of the food distribution system and an end to targeting, for reduction in the prices of rationed foodgrains that are presently unaffordable even at the BPL level. We are demanding an employment guarantee scheme with special provision for single women and female-headed families. Women from over a dozen states are expected to participate and representatives would speak at the Sangharsh Sabha on their experiences and struggles. It hardly needs to be stated that the demands being raised are crucial for women’s advance, indeed the widespread food deprivation faced by poor women is an important factor in the devaluation of women’s status today. The struggle asserts that there can be no “empowerment” of women without at least the minimum requirement of food and employment.

Com. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, CPI(M) General Secretary has agreed to make the opening remarks to be followed by presentations from women participants. They include Ms. Chinta, Omvati, Ram Devi, Shakuntala, Shah Jehan, Sangeeta. We await conformation from other speakers from different States. We have also invited economists and Government officials. Capt Lakshmi Sahgal, the legendary freedom fighter, will give the concluding address. A declaration cum resolution on the demands and the future course of struggle is also expected to be adopted.

We invite you to join the Sangharsh Sabha that will start at 10.30 am to 1pm to be followed by a dharna till 4pm. Women coming from outside Delhi would be happy to interact with citizens of the capital and would go back with the confidence that their voices have been heard at least by the people if not the Government.

Venue: Mavalankar Hall Grounds, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001. Time 10.30 am. If you require any further details please do contact us at 23319566 or 23710476.”

2. SUPREME COURT HEARING POSTPONED

The Supreme Court hearing to be held on 8 April 2003 has been postponed to 1 May 2003. The forthcoming hearing on 1st May is likely to take up the question of BPL selection, the second and the third reports of the commissioner, and a host of other issues.

3. THIRD REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER

Dr N.C. Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, has just submitted his third report to the Court. The report seeks to evaluate the progress of the right to food case in the past two years. Arguing for renewed attention to the right to food on an urgent basis, the report urges the court to take up both the issue of holding non-implementing states accountable and reorient the attention of the court towards the fundamental pleas of the litigation including the issue of work guarantee.

The Commissioner’s third report will not be in the public domain until the next Supreme Court hearing on 1 May. Immediately after that, the report will be posted on the campaign website (www.righttofood.com), in the “Commissioner’s Work” section. If you wish to see an advance copy (“embargoed” until 1 May), please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in.

4. MADHYA PRADESH: CAMPAIGN STEPPED UP

There has been intensified activity in Madhya Pradesh during the last few weeks, and more is expected in the near future. Recent events in M.P. include:

(a) A major training programme in Gwalior on 9-10 April, convened by Jan Adhikar Manch and attended by members of some 30 NGOs and organisations working in the Gwalior-Chambal area of Madhya Pradesh. The drought situation in this area is very alarming, and the participants have prepared district-wise plans of action for the next few months. If you are working in this area, please consider contacting Jan Adhikar Manch in Gwalior (tel 0751-2343407).

(b) Wide-ranging discussions with government officials (district collectors, Gwalior’s Divisional Commissioner, the Chief Secretary in Bhopal, the Chief Minister, and the Secretary Tribal Welfare in Delhi, among others) regarding the urgent need to address the problem of acute hunger and starvation among the Sahariya tribals of western Madhya Pradesh. The central government has sanctioned some funds for this, but it looks like tensions between central and state governments may slow down if not derail the whole process. The matter is being followed up by Jan Adhikar Manch, Dr. Mihir Shah (adviser to the Commissioner), ActionAid, members of the support group, and others.

(c) On 21 April, three 7-member teams from the Gwalior-Chambal area (two teams from SAMBHAV and one team from Ekta Parishad) will be converging to Baran district in Rajasthan for a week-long workshop on the right to work, which includes rehearsal of street theatre and other communication techniques. The training workshop is organised by SANKALP, a local organisation based in Baran, and will also involve several teams from Rajasthan. After that, the teams will be fanning out to different areas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to mobilise public support for the right to work. A similar training, conducted by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, was held in Tilonia (Rajasthan) earlier this month, and the teams trained there are already on the road – zindabad!

(d) A public hearing on the right to food was to be held in Shahdol on 16 April. Details of the hearing are awaited.

(e) A two-day meeting of M.P. groups involved in the right to food campaign will be held in Indore on 19-20 April. For further details please contact Mihir Shah (samprag@sify.com).

5. UTTAR PRADESH: RTF CONSULTATION, 10 MAY 2003

The Right to Food Campaign is taking root in Uttar Pradesh. There have been local activities in different areas, including Shankargarh, Lucknow, Kushinagar, Hardoi, among others (see earlier updates). Another leap forward is expected on 10 May 2003, when a major consultation on the right to food is to be held in Lucknow, at the initiative of FIAN-UP, a branch of Food First International Action Network. Here are some excerpts from the invitation circulated by the organisers:

“This is to bring to your kind notice that one day meeting is being organized on the issue of ‘Starvation in Uttar Pradesh: Situation and Challenges’.

As you know that in spite of the buffer stock of food grains and available system like PDS (Public Distribution System), incidence of starvation deaths are reported from many parts of the state like Chandauli, Bhadohi, Azamgarh, Bahraich, Mirzapur, Gonda, Ballia and Bundelkhand. Even after intervention of the Hon' able Supreme Court, the situation has not improved.

At the public hearing in Delhi on 10 January, 2003, the friends of U.P. also felt the necessity for Right to Food Campaign in Uttar Pradesh.In this regard the forthcoming meeting is going to be held and Mr. Sandeep Pandaey of NAPM, Mr. Dhirendra Pratap Singh, General Secretary of VOP, Ms. Bindu Singh of Gramya, Chandauli, and Mr. Lenin of PVCHR have given their consent for the meeting.

Venue: U.P. Press Club ( Near Tulsi Theatre), Hazarat Ganj, Lucknow-1. Time: 10 am to 8 pm. Contact person: Sanjay K Rai, A-8 Sarvoday Nagar, Indira Nagar, Lucknow 226016 (tel 0522-2349556). “

6. YOUR PLANS FOR THE WEEK OF ACTION ON RIGHT TO WORK

Many of you would be planning activities for the “week of action on the right to work”, from 24 April to 1 May 2003. Please let us know your plans (by sending a few lines to right2food@yahoo.co.in), so that we can have a full picture of activities across the country and circulate the information. If you wish to be kept informed of what is happening elsewhere during the week of action, please send us your coordinates (tel/fax numbers and e-mail address), and the name of a contact person. This way we could ensure that you have relevant information in quick time for your press releases etc.

UPDATE 13: Website Special

Dear friends,

This is a brief interim update, to draw your attention to some important additions to the campaign website (www.righttofood.com). Work on the website is in full swing, with new material being added almost every day and several new sections on the anvil.

Please note especially (1) the new "Hindi Materials" section, which contains Hindi translations of some key documents of the right to food campaign, and (2) the new "Right to Work" section, with recent documents on the right to work. Both sections include ready-made campaign material such as posters, leaflets, etc.

Further details of the recent additions are given below.

HINDI MATERIALS

This section contains Hindi translations of key documents, articles, notes, leaflets, posters etc. on the right to food and the right to work. The material on the right to work may be particularly useful to those who are preparing for the "week of action on the right to work" at the end of April.

To view the Hindi documents, you must have the Hindi font - Devlys 010, installed on your computer. If you don't already have the font, you can simply download it by clicking on the icon MFDev010 on the website. Detailed instructions for download are also available in this section. If you have any difficulty, please send a line to right2food@yahoo.co.in

The following materials are now available in Hindi:

Right to Food

Introduction to the Right to Food Campaign

Leaflet on Legal Action and appeal for involvement in the Campaign

A short note on Food Schemes

Supreme Court Orders

The importance of Mid Day Meals

Jan Sunwais and Right to Food

Summary of the PUCL Petition

Development Indicators in Manatu

Nutritional Indicators of India (1998-9)

Right to Work

Appeal for the National Week of Action (April 24 - May 1, 2003)

Poster/Leaflet for the Week of Action

Article on Right to Food and Right to Work

RIGHT TO WORK

This new section has preliminary materials on the Right to Work such as briefing notes, recent articles, and a "factsheet" on employment guarantee and the right to work. It also contains material relating to the forthcoming "week of action on the right to work" (ending on 1 May, 2003), including campaign material such as draft leaflets and posters. You can also access this by clicking on the scrolling banner on the Week of Action at the top of the Home page. This will take you to the Appeal for Action and further resources on Right to Work. Hindi versions of these materials are also available in the Hindi section. Please use these resources for public distribution.

COMMISSIONER'S WORK

This new section gives an outline of the work undertaken by Dr. N.C. Saxena, who has been appointed as "Commissioner" of the Supreme Court for the purpose of monitoring recent orders on the right to food. This includes the first two reports submitted by the Commissioner to the Supreme Court (the third report will be posted immediately after the next Supreme Court hearing on 1 May 2003).

RESEARCH AND SURVEYS

This section contains material prepared for research and surveys undertaken in connection with the Supreme Court hearing and the right to food campaign. For instance, you can find here survey questionnaires that have been used for field surveys of mid-day meals and the public distribution system, and adapt these questionnaires to prepare similar surveys in your own area. Similar, this section contains detailed material prepared for a survey of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana programme, including survey questionnaires, guidelines for investigators, etc. Feel free to use these to plan your own research work. 

UPDATE 12

Dear friends,

This is the second part of our two-part update for this week. The headlines:

1. SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER

2. UTTAR PRADESH: STRUGGLE FOR RIGHT TO FOOD AND INFORMATION3. ORISSA: FURTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS

4. KARNATAKA: MODEL SOCIAL AUDITS PLANNED

5. EXTENSION OF MID-DAY MEALS TO SUMMER VACATION

6. RAJASTHAN: EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS ROLLED BACK

7. FIAN SEMINAR IN DELHI

8. ANTYODAYA PROGRAMME TO BE EXPANDED

9. PLANS FOR WEEK OF ACTION FROM MADHYA PRADESH AND KARNATAKA

10. MAHARASHTRA: DEMAND FOR INCREASED SPENDING ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION 11. "WOMEN'S RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK" - THEME OF WOMEN'S DAY IN WEST BENGAL

12. MORE ACTIVITIES IN MADHYA PRADESH

1. SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER

Dr N C Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, has been taking forward the system of monitoring food and employment schemes. In the past few months he has been travelling actively to various states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa. In all these places he has been holding meetings with active participants of the Right to Food Campaign as well as with government officials.

The second report of the Commissioner has also been presented to the Supreme Court. At the last hearing, on 3 March, Justice Sabarwal said that he had spent two hours studying the report, and he directed the states to respond to it carefully. He will be taking it up in detail in the next hearing, on 8 April. The report is available in the website (you can access it at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/reports/sctwo.html, or just go to www.righttofood.com and a link at the bottom of the page will lead you right there).

2. UTTAR PRADESH: STRUGGLE FOR RIGHT TO FOOD AND INFORMATION

On 11 January 2003, just a day after the President of India put his seal on the Union Right to Information Act, over 250 people from Bharawan village in Hardoi district (U.P.) staged a spontaneous dharna to demand information on development-related schemes in their block. The demand was fiercely opposed by vested interests, and the struggle intensified over the next two weeks, with the active involvement of Sandeep Pandey. After ten days of dharna and several days of hunger strike in icy weather, the administration turned hostile and even threatened a lathi charge. Despite dire warnings, the people of Bharawan moved towards the district headquarters in Hardoi. They marched with black bands tied across their mouth to symbolize the stifling of the voice of democracy.

The District Magistrate, Mr M.A.A. Khan, assured them that he would complete an enquiry and give a detailed report by 15 February. As a first victory, the people of Bharawan got information about various public works taken up for a part of last year. Seeing unbuilt roads and ghost 'projects' has created a stir among the participants. This has also put pressure on the administration with various officials being suspended, possibly for the first time in UP with the use of right to information.

To take this process forward, a workshop on the right to food and information was organised in Bharawan on 20-21 February. The workshop had widespread participation from people all over the block and even from different parts of UP. Members of PUCL (Rajasthan), Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Parivartan (Delhi) and the support group of the right to food campaign facilitated the workshop.

There are widespread irregularities in the region. Few people have seen ration cards. A survey done in five panchayats revealed that only 0.5 % of the people had a ration card. This is staggering even by UP's unusual standards. Only one woman among hundreds of participants had heard of a survey being conducted for identifying BPL families, even though local officials claimed that a door-to-door BPL identification survey had just been completed. Participants from just one panchayat had worked in an SGRY programme, and even they had not received their full wages.

The meeting ended with a resolve to take up issues of employment, pensions and the public distribution system. The team hopes to make use of the right to information in securing better compliance in the region with respect to these schemes. Hopefully this would lead to a much larger movement in the whole of Uttar Pradesh.

3. ORISSA: MORE PUBLIC HEARINGS

In Kalahandi district, a team of volunteers is making preparations for public hearings in all the 16 panchayats of Thuamul Rampur block. A major public hearing is expected to take place in Kerpai, the remotest panchayat of this remote block of a remote district. Meanwhile, there are signs that the district administration is beginning to respond to these initiatives. Further details are awaited. If interested, please contact Rajkishore Mishra at rajkishor_mishra@hotmail.com.

4. KARNATAKA: MODEL SOCIAL AUDITS PLANNED

Groups in Karnataka are actively taking forward the system of social audits. They have organised two rounds of training for this purpose. Members of the campaign groups have also participated in a couple of social audits organised in Rajasthan and in Delhi. They are well on their way to conducting audits in parts of Karnataka. This would be one major step in using the tools of right to information to promote the right to food.

5. EXTENSION OF MID-DAY MEALS TO SUMMER VACATION

The support group has started lobbying for an extension of mid day meal programmes during the summer months, especially in drought-affected districts (this proposal is also included in the second report of the Commissioner). In drought-affected areas, mid-day meals can play a crucial role in protecting children from hunger. Towards this, the support group has argued for an extension of mid day meals into summer, improved quality and quantity of mid-day meals, and inclusion of out of school children during the summer vacation. Similar demands have been made by various individuals and organisations involved in the right to food campaign, notably in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

The demand for extension of mid-day meals to the summer vacation was presented by Akal Sangharsh Samiti to Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, at the end of a one-day dharna held on 3 March (see part 1 of this update). The Chief Minister welcomed the idea and a provision for this was made in the budget presented the next day in the State Assembly. Similar efforts are being made elsewhere.

7. FIAN SEMINAR IN DELHI

FIAN International organised a three-day seminar on the right to food at the Indian Social Institute on 24-26 February 2003, under the theme: "Towards Full Realization of the Right to Food: Exploring the potentials of a Framework Law". The seminar reviewed the implementation of the right to food in India and explored the potential for a so-called "framework law" on the right to food, i.e. a law aimed at defining the broad parameters of legal action in this domain. FIAN has been working on "voluntary guidelines" for the right to food with the UN's Food and Agriculture Oragnisation (FAO). The guidelines proposed by FIAN are available in the organisation's website (see http://www.fian.org/COC.ENG.rtf). We hope to share the report of the seminar with you in due course.

8. ANTYODAYA PROGRAMME TO BE EXPANDED

In his budget speech on 28 February, the Finance Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh announced that Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), a programme of food-based social security for destitute households, would be expanded to cover 50 lakh additional families, in addition to the current 1 crore families. This is an achievement of sorts for the campaign, in so far as the announcement appears to be directly linked with the campaign's activities. It may be recalled that some months ago the support group had submitted a detailed proposal for the extension and improvement of AAY to the Supreme Court. This proposal (available in the "legal issues" section of the website) was also presented to the Food Ministry, the Planning Commission, etc. The forthcoming extension of AAY seems to be a result of these lobbying efforts.

Having said this, the announced extension is only about half of what the Food Ministry had recommended, based on this proposal. Further, the proposal included wide-ranging suggestions for the consolidation of the scheme, which are yet to be accepted by the government. The lobbying efforts continue (it seems that a modified version of the proposal submitted to the Supreme Court has been sent by the Food Ministry to the Cabinet).

One specific suggestion made in the proposal was that some specific "priority groups" should be given Antyodaya cards as a matter of right, e.g. widows without support, disabled persons without support, and elderly persons without support. Informal communications from the Food Ministry suggest that these groups will receive priority in the proposed extension of the Antyodaya programme. Revised guidelines are awaited.

9. PLANS FOR WEEK OF ACTION FROM MADHYA PRADESH AND KARNATAKA

Plans for week of action is being made actively by various groups across the country. In a meeting of participants of active participants of right to food campaign in Madhya Pradesh, it was decided that all the organisations present will take up some activity or the other for the week of action. This may be organising a meeting of ten or more panchayats, rallys, dharanas, etc. Plans are on to involve the media actively in the process. This is one of the first states to put its plans in place for the week of action.

Simultaneously in Karnataka campaign groups are in planning activities in all 27 districts of the State. They are also planning to work with the National Law School, Bangalore to revise the Maharashtra employment guarantee act and produce an improved draft for Karnatka. To take the message of the campaign among people effectively, plans are on to involve cultural activists to produce songs to spread the message effectively.

Activities are being planned for every day of the week across the state. The current plan is to have a theme for each day based on which activities would be organised in different parts of the state. Plans include involvement of government officials and media in all levels; call for action for all community based organisations, trade unions, NGOs et al; taking up the cause of migrant workers, youth, women, child labourers and children in general. On May 1st there will be rallies in front of the vidhan sabha (legislative assembly of the state) and also in every district headquarters.

10. MAHARASHTRA: DEMAND FOR INCREASED SPENDING ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Anna Adhikar Abhiyan organised a mass protest on 11-13 March in Mumbai (coinciding with the opening of the budget session of the State Assembly), demanding a major increase in public spending on health and nutrition. The dharna, attended by some 1500-2000 people on all the three days, was accompanied by a mass relay fast. It was addressed by a number of leading social activists.

The demands included increasing budgetary allocations for nutrition and health, reverting to a universal public distribution system, distribution of BPL cards in the interim to various identified social categories, proper implementation of the mid-day meal scheme and the integrated child development scheme, availability of drugs in public hospitals, stopping privatisation of health services, public audit of the Rs 727 crore World Bank loan to the health sector, and posting of health workers in every village.

11. WOMEN'S RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK" - THEME OF WOMEN'S DAY IN WEST BENGAL

In West Bengal, over 35 women's organisations and NGOs held demonstrations on 8 March 2003 (Women's Day) under the banner of Maitree. The demonstrations held in the College Square had the right to food and work as the primary theme. This was featured as one of the prime concerns along with domestic violence and other issues. Songs and plays added colour to the programme, and all the participants wore caps saying "No war, we want food, No war, we want work". Leaflets were circulated linking the right to work with the right to food. A special issue of the magazine 'Haq Katha' was brought out, focusing on the right to work, the public distribution system, and related issues.

Shramajibee Mahila Samity, a rural working women's organisation, performed a play at College Square. Problems in enlisting names in BPL list, non-availability of food grains from ration shops, and violations of Supreme Court orders in rural areas were among the themes of the play. Besides this, many other NGOs like Sanlaap, ISW and individual members of the platform put up dance dramas, recited poems and sang anti-war songs.

After the play, 'Maitree' took out a rally from College Square to Sealdah Railway Station. About 700 women participated in that rally. The event was well covered by print and visual media. Apart from Maitree, many other women's groups have taken up food as one of the key themes of Women's Day.

12. MORE ACTIVITIES IN MADHYA PRADESH

There has been a fair amount of activity in Madhya Pradesh in recent weeks. In Jhabua, a training programme on the right to food took place with a five-point agenda: 1-the concept of food security, 2-food security & right to food campaign, 3- Supreme Court orders & its implementation at community level, 4-various public welfare schemes being implemented by Government, 5- taking forward the campaign at various levels. Various issues came up at the workshop. In social security pension schemes, for example, the beneficiaries are asked by the bank to get the signatures of the sarpanch or the village secretary. The poor have to part with some bribe to do the same. Further, the eligibility criteria of the scheme are found to be problematic. In mid-day meal scheme, where 'dry-rations' are being provided, it has been found not to reach the children. SAMPARK has agreed to disseminate information on the schemes, the orders of the Supreme Court, and the BPL survey. The workshop also discussed the need to spread awareness about globalisation among people since it is connected to right to food and work.

Meanwhile, there is also some movement in the Gwalior-Chambal area of Madhya Pradesh. Recent reports suggest that the drought situation in districts such as Shivpuri and Sheopur is extremely alarming, especially among the Sahariyas. For instance, there isn't a blade of grass in the entire eastern part of Sheopur district, and cattle are dying like flies. Villagers are already reporting cattle losses of 50 per cent or so, and expect the bulk of the livestock to perish during the next few months. The condition of the people is not much better. Undernutrition levels in that area are among the highest in India even in ordinary years, and hunger is intensifying further with the spread of drought conditions. Immediately after Holi, mass migration began, with entire villages leaving the drought-affected areas to look for work elsewhere. Ekta Parishad is doing useful work on drought and related issues in these districts, and Lok Adhikar Manch, a coalition of organisations based in the area, is planning a training programme on the right to food for local activists during the second week of April. Also in Madhya Pradesh, activists of the right to food campaign recently joined an antiwar demonstration also involving ActionAid (bhopal) , Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Samajvadi Jan Parishad, Jansangharsh Morcha, Science Centre, Tulika Samvad , Pragatisheel & Janvadl Lekah Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sanghathan, Narmada Bachao Andolan, and Eklavya, among others. The demonstrators pointed out that apart from being a violation of human rights in itself, the war also distracts us from concentrating on efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger.

UPDATE 11

(March 2003)

Dear friends,

The right to food campaign is brimming with life after a short following the Asian Social Forum and the Delhi public hearing on 10th January. The Supreme Court resumed on 3 March, with a new bench headed by Justice Sabarwal, who seems to be taking strong personal interest in this matter. More importantly, preparations for the "week of action on the right to work" at the end of April are in full swing.

Once again, Rajasthan seems to be in the lead here, with potentially useful insights for other states. For this reason, and also because we are less well informed about recent events in other states, we give quite a bit of space in this update to what is happening in Rajasthan. No favouritism intended.

(Update: We have started receiving more feedback from other states, including Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and will be including this in the next update, within a few days.)

This is the first part of a special, two-part update. The first part (this one) focuses on the right to work. The second part, to be sent very soon, deals with other issues.

Today's headlines:

1. WEEK OF ACTION ON RIGHT TO WORK: UPDATE

2. RAJASTHAN: RIGHT TO WORK CAMPAIGN TAKES OFF

3. DHARNA FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK (JAIPUR, 3 FEBRUARY)

4. NAPM YATRA MARCHES ON

1. WEEK OF ACTION ON RIGHT TO WORK: UPDATE

As mentioned in earlier updates, plans are afoot for a "week of action on the right to work" at the end April, culminating on 1 May (Labour Day). An appeal for action has been widely circulated (if you missed the appeal, you can access it from the home page of our website, www.righttofood.com). The

initial signatories of this appeal consist of a number of organizations and individuals committed to the right to work, and further names are being added as the campaign grows (an updated list of signatories will be circulated in due course). Organisations that have already decided to participate in the week of action, or are very likely to do so, include Akal Sangharsh Samiti, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Paschim Banga Keth Mazdoor Samiti, Tamilnadu Agricultural Labourers (TALM), National Campaign Committee of Rural Workers (NCCRW), Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), and the National Alliance for People's Movements (NAPM), among others.

The response to this appeal has been very positive. So far, proposed activities include yatras and padyatras, public hearings, "exposing" the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana(SGRY), interactions with MLAs and other political leaders, district-level public meetings, etc. On a more assertive note, some members of the campaign have floated the idea of lying down in front of trains that are transporting grain to be exported - but so far it is all gong and no dinner. Further ideas and suggestions are most welcome, atthe usual address right2food@yahoo.co.in.

Active campaigning has already begun in several states, particularly Rajasthan (see below), but also other states. For instance, there are active preparations for padyatras on the right to work in Surguja (Chattisgarh), public hearings in Kalahandi (Orissa), and an investigation of SGRY in Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh), and much more. Action plans for the week of action have also been formulated in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. We are a little short of specific information right now, but will circulate a further update on this as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we proceed with some further feedback on the right to work campaign in Rajasthan.

2. RAJASTHAN: RIGHT TO WORK CAMPAIGN TAKES OFF

The right to work campaign in Rajasthan is rapidly gaining momentum. Akal Sangharsh Samiti staged a dharna in Jaipur on 3 March (see below), and the event gave clear signs of an overwhelming public response on this issue. Indeed, in drought-affected areas, employment is the main concern. Akal Sangharsh Samiti's member organisations resolved to take this issue forward through local agitations as a matter of priority. Padyatras, dharnas, etc., are already taking place in many areas. On 8 March, the right to work was the main theme of a large demonstration for "Women's Day" in Chittorgarh.

Another important development is that, in Rajasthan, the right to food and the right to work are emerging as a possible counter to the Hindutva agenda. As Aruna Roy of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) put it at the Jaipur dharna, the right to work unites working people instead of dividing them, and provides a constructive alternative to the communal agenda.MKSS is planning a series of yatras around the state from early April onwards, focusing on the right to work and communal harmony. The right to work campaign in Rajasthan is all set to intensify during the next few months.

Along with these activities, Akal Sangharsh Samiti and its member organisations have been actively lobbying for the introduction of an "employment guarantee act" in Rajasthan. The practical modalities and financial implications of an employment guarantee programme are being actively explored, with expert advice from Prof. Pradeep Bhargava (Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur) and others. Similar research is being conducted in some other states, notably Madhya Pradesh.

3. DHARNA FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK (JAIPUR, 3 MARCH)

A major dharna for the right to work took place in Jaipur on 3 March, 2003. We reproduce below the report published in the Hindu on 5 March (also available in the "archives" section at www.hinduonnet.com):

Jaipur, 4 March. Two thousand working women and men from drought-affected areas in Rajasthan held a day-long dharna outside the Vidhan Sabha in Jaipur on Monday, demanding guaranteed employment for all at the minimum wage. The dharna was organised by Akal Sangharsh Samiti, a wide coalition of grassroots organisations working on drought issues in the rural areas of the State. The participants came from Bikaner, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Baran, and other drought-affected districts. Wherever they came from, the tales of hardship were similar and the main concern was employment.

As things stand, the best a drought-affected family can hope for is 10 days of relief employment a month for one member. With the minimum wage pegged at Rs. 60 a day, this fetches only Rs. 600 a month for a whole family. In village after village, there is fierce competition for the available jobs, and poor people are often left out. Even those who are lucky enough to get work can barely make ends meet with Rs. 600 a month. The participants were united in demanding that ceilings should be lifted and that work should be available for all. Specifically, they demanded that the right to work should be recognised in the form of an `Employment Guarantee Act'.

The demonstration united working people from different castes and communities. Aruna Roy, one of the speakers, contrasted this unity with the divisive politics of communal outfits. The slogan `Talwar naheen, trishul naheen, kaam chahiye' resonated through the day and caught the public's imagination.

At the end of the day, a delegation met (incomplete from here) 

UPDATE 10

(March 2003)

Dear friends,

This is the second part of our two-part update for this week.

The headlines:

1. SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER

2. UTTAR PRADESH: STRUGGLE FOR RIGHT TO FOOD AND INFORMATION

3. ORISSA: FURTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS

4. KARNATAKA: MODEL SOCIAL AUDITS PLANNED

5. EXTENSION OF MID-DAY MEALS TO SUMMER VACATION

6. RAJASTHAN: EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS ROLLED BACK

7. FIAN SEMINAR IN DELHI

8. ANTYODAYA PROGRAMME TO BE EXPANDED

9. PLANS FOR WEEK OF ACTION FROM MADHYA PRADESH AND KARNATAKA

10. MAHARASHTRA: DEMAND FOR INCREASED SPENDING ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION

11. "WOMEN'S RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK" - THEME OF WOMEN'S DAY IN WEST BENGAL

12. MORE ACTIVITIES IN MADHYA PRADESH.

1. SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER

Dr N C Saxena, Commissioner of the Supreme Court, has been taking forward the system of monitoring food and employment schemes. In the past few months he has been travelling actively to various states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa. In all these places he has been holding meetings with active participants of the Right to Food Campaign as well as with government officials. The second report of the Commissioner has also been presented to the Supreme Court. At the last hearing, on 3 March, Justice Sabarwal said that he had spent two hours studying the report, and he directed the states to respond to it carefully. He will be taking it up in detail in the next hearing, on 8 April. The report is available in the website (you can access it at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/reports/sctwo.html, or just go to www.righttofood.com and a link at the bottom of the page will lead you right there).

2. UTTAR PRADESH: STRUGGLE FOR RIGHT TO FOOD AND INFORMATION

On 11 January 2003, just a day after the President of India put his seal on the Union Right to Information Act, over 250 people from Bharawan village in Hardoi district (U.P.) staged a spontaneous dharna to demand information on development-related schemes in their block. The demand was fiercely opposed by vested interests, and the struggle intensified over the next two weeks, with the active involvement of Sandeep Pandey. After ten days of dharna and several days of hunger strike in icy weather, the administration turned hostile and even threatened a lathi charge. Despite dire warnings, the people of Bharawan moved towards the district headquarters in Hardoi. They marched with black bands tied across their mouth to symbolize the stifling of the voice of democracy. The District Magistrate, Mr M.A.A. Khan, assured them that he would complete an enquiry and give a detailed report by 15 February. As a first victory, the people of Bharawan got information about various public works taken up for a part of last year. Seeing unbuilt roads and ghost 'projects' has created a stir among the participants. This has also put pressure on the administration with various officials being suspended, possibly for the first time in UP with the use of right to information. To take this process forward, a workshop on the right to food and information was organised in Bharawan on 20-21 February. The workshop had widespread participation from people all over the block and even from different parts of UP. Members of PUCL (Rajasthan), Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Parivartan (Delhi) and the support group of the right to food campaign facilitated the workshop. There are widespread irregularities in the region. Few people have seen ration cards. A survey done in five panchayats revealed that only 0.5 % of the people had a ration card. This is staggering even by UP's unusual standards. Only one woman among hundreds of participants had heard of a survey being conducted for identifying BPL families, even though local officials claimed that a door-to-door BPL identification survey had just been completed. Participants from just one panchayat had worked in an SGRY programme, and even they had not received their full wages. The meeting ended with a resolve to take up issues of employment, pensions and the public distribution system. The team hopes to make use of the right to information in securing better compliance in the region with respect to these schemes. Hopefully this would lead to a much larger movement in the whole of Uttar Pradesh.

3. ORISSA: MORE PUBLIC HEARINGS

In Kalahandi district, a team of volunteers is making preparations for public hearings in all the 16 panchayats of Thuamul Rampur block. A major public hearing is expected to take place in Kerpai, the remotest panchayat of this remote block of a remote district. Meanwhile, there are signs that the district administration is beginning to respond to these initiatives. Further details are awaited. If interested, please contact Rajkishore Mishra at rajkishor_mishra@hotmail.com.

4. KARNATAKA: MODEL SOCIAL AUDITS PLANNED

Groups in Karnataka are actively taking forward the system of social audits. They have organised two rounds of training for this purpose. Members of the campaign groups have also participated in a couple of social audits organised in Rajasthan and in Delhi. They are well on their way to conducting audits in parts of Karnataka. This would be one major step in using the tools of right to information to promote the right to food.

5. EXTENSION OF MID-DAY MEALS TO SUMMER VACATION

The support group has started lobbying for an extension of mid day meal programmes during the summer months, especially in drought-affected districts (this proposal is also included in the second report of the Commissioner). In drought-affected areas, mid-day meals can play a crucial role in protecting children from hunger. Towards this, the support group has argued for an extension of mid day meals into summer, improved quality and quantity of mid-day meals, and inclusion of out of school children during the summer vacation. Similar demands have been made by various individuals and organisations involved in the right to food campaign, notably in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The demand for extension of mid-day meals to the summer vacation was presented by Akal Sangharsh Samiti to Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, at the end of a one-day dharna held on 3 March (see part 1 of this update). The Chief Minister welcomed the idea and a provision for this was made in the budget presented the next day in the State Assembly. Similar efforts are being made elsewhere.

7. FIAN SEMINAR IN DELHI

FIAN International organised a three-day seminar on the right to food at the Indian Social Institute on 24-26 February 2003, under the theme: "Towards Full Realization of the Right to Food: Exploring the potentials of a Framework Law". The seminar reviewed the implementation of the right to food in India and explored the potential for a so-called "framework law" on the right to food, i.e. a law aimed at defining the broad parameters of legal action in this domain. FIAN has been working on "voluntary guidelines" for the right to food with the UN's Food and Agriculture Oragnisation (FAO). The guidelines proposed by FIAN are available in the organisation's website (see http://www.fian.org/COC.ENG.rtf ). We hope to share the report of the seminar with you in due course.

8. ANTYODAYA PROGRAMME TO BE EXPANDED

In his budget speech on 28 February, the Finance Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh announced that Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), a programme of food-based social security for destitute households, would be expanded to cover 50 lakh additional families, in addition to the current 1 crore families. This is an achievement of sorts for the campaign, in so far as the announcement appears to be directly linked with the campaign's activities. It may be recalled that some months ago the support group had submitted a detailed proposal for the extension and improvement of AAY to the Supreme Court. This proposal (available in the "legal issues" section of the website) was also presented to the Food Ministry, the Planning Commission, etc. The forthcoming extension of AAY seems to be a result of these lobbying efforts. Having said this, the announced extension is only about half of what the Food Ministry had recommended, based on this proposal. Further, the proposal included wide-ranging suggestions for the consolidation of the scheme, which are yet to be accepted by the government. The lobbying efforts continue (it seems that a modified version of the proposal submitted to the Supreme Court has been sent by the Food Ministry to the Cabinet). One specific suggestion made in the proposal was that some specific "priority groups" should be given Antyodaya cards as a matter of right, e.g. widows without support, disabled persons without support, and elderly persons without support. Informal communications from the Food Ministry suggest that these groups will receive priority in the proposed extension of the Antyodaya programme. Revised guidelines are awaited.

9. PLANS FOR WEEK OF ACTION FROM MADHYA PRADESH AND KARNATAKA

Plans for week of action is being made actively by various groups across the country. In a meeting of participants of active participants of right to food campaign in Madhya Pradesh, it was decided that all the organisations present will take up some activity or the other for the week of action. This may be organising a meeting of ten or more panchayats, rallys, dharanas, etc. Plans are on to involve the media actively in the process. This is one of the first states to put its plans in place for the week of action. Simultaneously in Karnataka campaign groups are in planning activities in all 27 districts of the State. They are also planning to work with the National Law School, Bangalore to revise the Maharashtra employment guarantee act and produce an improved draft for Karnatka. To take the message of the campaign among people effectively, plans are on to involve cultural activists to produce songs to spread the message effectively. Activities are being planned for every day of the week across the state. The current plan is to have a theme for each day based on which activities would be organised in different parts of the state. Plans include involvement of government officials and media in all levels; call for action for all community based organisations, trade unions, NGOs et al; taking up the cause of migrant workers, youth, women, child labourers and children in general. On May 1st there will be rallies in front of the vidhan sabha (legislative assembly of the state) and also in every district headquarters.

10. MAHARASHTRA: DEMAND FOR INCREASED SPENDING ON HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Anna Adhikar Abhiyan organised a mass protest on 11-13 March in Mumbai (coinciding with the opening of the budget session of the State Assembly), demanding a major increase in public spending on health and nutrition. The dharna, attended by some 1500-2000 people on all the three days, was accompanied by a mass relay fast. It was addressed by a number of leading social activists. The demands included increasing budgetary allocations for nutrition and health, reverting to a universal public distribution system, distribution of BPL cards in the interim to various identified social categories, proper implementation of the mid-day meal scheme and the integrated child development scheme, availability of drugs in public hospitals, stopping privatisation of health services, public audit of the Rs 727 crore World Bank loan to the health sector, and posting of health workers in every village.

11. WOMEN'S RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK" - THEME OF WOMEN'S DAY IN WEST BENGAL

In West Bengal, over 35 women's organisations and NGOs held demonstrations on 8 March 2003 (Women's Day) under the banner of Maitree. The demonstrations held in the College Square had the right to food and work as the primary theme. This was featured as one of the prime concerns along with domestic violence and other issues. Songs and plays added colour to the programme, and all the participants wore caps saying "No war, we want food, No war, we want work". Leaflets were circulated linking the right to work with the right to food. A special issue of the magazine 'Haq Katha' was brought out, focusing on the right to work, the public distribution system, and related issues. Shramajibee Mahila Samity, a rural working women's organisation, performed a play at College Square. Problems in enlisting names in BPL list, non-availability of food grains from ration shops, and violations of Supreme Court orders in rural areas were among the themes of the play. Besides this, many other NGOs like Sanlaap, ISW and individual members of the platform put up dance dramas, recited poems and sang anti-war songs. After the play, 'Maitree' took out a rally from College Square to Sealdah Railway Station. About 700 women participated in that rally. The event was well covered by print and visual media. Apart from Maitree, many other women's groups have taken up food as one of the key themes of Women's Day.

12. MORE ACTIVITIES IN MADHYA PRADESH

There has been a fair amount of activity in Madhya Pradesh in recent weeks. In Jhabua, a training programme on the right to food took place with a five-point agenda: 1-the concept of food security, 2-food security & right to food campaign, 3- Supreme Court orders & its implementation at community level, 4-various public welfare schemes being implemented by Government, 5- taking forward the campaign at various levels. Various issues came up at the workshop. In social security pension schemes, for example, the beneficiaries are asked by the bank to get the signatures of the sarpanch or the village secretary. The poor have to part with some bribe to do the same. Further, the eligibility criteria of the scheme are found to be problematic. In mid-day meal scheme, where 'dry-rations' are being provided, it has been found not to reach the children. SAMPARK has agreed to disseminate information on the schemes, the orders of the Supreme Court, and the BPL survey. The workshop also discussed the need to spread awareness about globalisation among people since it is connected to right to food and work. Meanwhile, there is also some movement in the Gwalior-Chambal area of Madhya Pradesh. Recent reports suggest that the drought situation in districts such as Shivpuri and Sheopur is extremely alarming, especially among the Sahariyas. For instance, there isn't a blade of grass in the entire eastern part of Sheopur district, and cattle are dying like flies. Villagers are already reporting cattle losses of 50 per cent or so, and expect the bulk of the livestock to perish during the next few months. The condition of the people is not much better. Undernutrition levels in that area are among the highest in India even in ordinary years, and hunger is intensifying further with the spread of drought conditions. Immediately after Holi, mass migration began, with entire villages leaving the drought-affected areas to look for work elsewhere. Ekta Parishad is doing useful work on drought and related issues in these districts, and Lok Adhikar Manch, a coalition of organisations based in the area, is planning a training programme on the right to food for local activists during the second week of April. Also in Madhya Pradesh, activists of the right to food campaign recently joined an antiwar demonstration also involving ActionAid (bhopal) , Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Samajvadi Jan Parishad, Jansangharsh Morcha, Science Centre, Tulika Samvad , Pragatisheel & Janvadl Lekah Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sanghathan, Narmada Bachao Andolan, and Eklavya, among others. The demonstrators pointed out that apart from being a violation of human rights in itself, the war also distracts us from concentrating on efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger.

UPDATE 9

Dear friends,

One year ago, on 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court passed an ‘interim order’ that effectively converts the benefits of eight food-related schemes into legal entitlements. Slowly but surely, the order seems to be having an impact in many states. The introduction of mid-day meal programmes in many states, also based on that order, is another encouraging development. Yet, massive violations of this and related orders continue across the country. There is a growing concern for effective monitoring and redressal mechanisms aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of Supreme Court orders. This Update begins with brief reports of three initiatives in that direction – from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra respectively.

We would like to remind you of the public hearing ‘Living with hunger’ to be held in Delhi on 10 January, 2003. The public hearing comes in the wake of widespread reports of hunger and starvation across the country. These hardships are likely to increase further in the next few months as drought conditions intensify in many areas. The public hearing is an important opportunity to consolidate the campaign in anticipation of these difficult times.

…and now for today’s headlines.

1. PUBLIC HEARING IN KELWADA (RAJASTHAN), 4 DECEMBER

2. SURVEY OF FOOD SCHEMES BY ANNA ADHIKAR ABHIYAN IN MAHARASHTRA

3. WORKSHOP ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN BABA AMTE CENTRE, M.P.

4. AIDWA PROTESTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

5. RIGHT TO WORK BILL TABLED IN THE PARLIAMENT

6. PADYATRAS AND RALLY IN JHARKHAND

7. INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

8. ANOTHER EVALUATION OF MID-DAY MEALS IN RAJASTHAN

9. RIGHT TO FOOD AND THE ‘ASIAN SOCIAL FORUM’ (2-7 JAN, 2003)

1. PUBLIC HEARING IN KELWADA (RAJASTHAN), 4 DECEMBER

On 4 December 2002, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan convened a major public hearing on the right to food in Kelwada (district Rajsamand, Rajasthan). The main purpose of this hearing was to review the implementation of recent Supreme Court orders in the area. Prior to the hearing, a massive investigation of food-related programmes was carried out by MKSS activists in six nearby panchayats. This investigation uncovered extensive fraud in the public distribution system (PDS), as well as widespread irregularities in other food-related programmes. The silver lining was the mid-day meal programme – see item 8 below.

The public hearing was not without suspense as local PDS dealers turned up in full strength, flanked by their chamchas, and repeatedly tried to derail or disrupt the meeting. Evidently, they felt threatened by this public exposure of corruption in the PDS. Fortunately, they were no match for the experienced activists of MKSS, who were able to stay the course. Initially, the local tribals (mainly Bhils, who are at the receiving end of merciless exploitation in the area) hesitated to speak out in front of the dealers, but their confidence grew as the hearing unfolded and soon they were queuing at the mike.

The testimonies also covered drought-related issues such as the lack of relief employment in the area and the alarming depletion of water and fodder resources. The concluding resolution includes a strong demand for an employment guarantee scheme, a proposal that is slowly making some headway in Rajasthan. The public hearing attracted a wide range of participants from Rajasthan and beyond, and received wide media coverage.

Much follow-up action in the area is expected in the wake of this public hearing. In particular, action will be sought against those who are guilty of corruption in the PDS. There is bound to be strong resistance from vested interests, especially as the ramifications of this lucrative business unravel beyond the local dealers. This could well turn out to be a significant test case of the possibility of eradicating corruption from the PDS.

Background material prepared for the Kelwada public hearing includes a note on “public hearings and the right to food”, which may be of interest to other organizations. The note will soon be posted on the campaign website (http://righttofood.tripod), along with other documents relating with this important initiative.

2. SURVEY OF FOOD SCHEMES BY ANNA ADHIKAR ABHIYAN IN MAHARASHTRA

There is a growing concern for effective implementation of Supreme Court orders at the ground level. This has motivated various groups to experiment with different forms of monitoring. Anna Adhikar Abhiyan, a network for promoting the right to food in Maharashtra, recently initiated a survey of food-related schemes in 63 villages and 16 urban settlements across 6 districts and two cities in Maharasthra. The survey covered 9 schemes covered in the Supreme Court of 28 November 2001 and follow-up orders. The findings bring out glaring gaps in the conception and implementation of various food schemes in the State.

The draft survey report is available on the campaign website at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/reports/mahsurvey.html

Anna Adhikar Abhiyan followed the survey with a series of meetings with the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra as well as with secretaries of other departments handling food-related schemes. Dr. Abhay Shukla, who has been designated as advisor to the Commissioner in Maharashtra, took active part in these meetings. We hope to include further details of these meetings in later Updates.

Anna Adhikar Abhiyan has recommended that state and district level monitoring committees should be set up with representation from the NGOs, panchayats, etc. They have asked for adequate powers to these committees to take action against officials who are not implementing the orders of the Supreme Court. For many of the schemes they have asked for an increase in the funding by the state government to make these schemes more effective and to give them a wider coverage. Some schemes like the National Family Benefit scheme require the applicant to do a lot of paperwork and visit many offices. Anna Adhikar Abhiyan has recommended that there should be a single window clearance with a one-month ceiling for processing such applications. The poverty line for the state, they feel, is very low and excludes a lot of really poor households. They have asked for a change in the criteria and for the use of social rather than economic criteria. Finally, the Abhiyan recommends that there should be adequate publicity about the schemes through AIR, DD, posters, wall writing, etc. Along with this the list of beneficiaries should also be displayed in each panchayat.

3. WORKSHOP ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AT BABA AMTE CENTRE, M.P.

A workshop on the Right to Food was held at the Baba Amte Centre for People’s Empowerment near Dewas (M.P.) on 25 November, 2002. The main focus was the need to develop procedures for monitoring the implementation of Supreme Court orders. The meeting was facilitated by Mihir Shah, advisor to the Commissioner (Dr. N.C. Saxena). Extracts from the workshop report are copied below:

“The workshop was attended by 41 people, mainly belonging to grass-roots people's organisations from 25 districts of MP and 2 districts of Chhatisgarh… The immediate focus of the workshop was on the reported starvation deaths in the districts of Shivpuri, Vidisha and Guna. ActionAid India presented the results of their ‘rapid rural appraisal’ in the 3 districts carried out in November 2002. MPBGVS presented the results of their survey on the 9 schemes being monitored by the Supreme Court, carried out in September 2002 in 202 villages and 207 schools in 24 blocks of 13 districts of MP. In the discussion that followed, participants described the situation in their respective areas…

It was agreed that while 3 successive years of drought have brought the situation to a flash-point, there is a need to keep in view the ‘general state of drought and undernutrition’ that prevails in states like MP. And to work out long-term strategies of drought-proofing and mechanisms of monitoring, well beyond the immediate context of the Supreme Court order. It was also generally agreed that the focus should be on campaigning for a constitutional ‘Right to Work’ as the only effective means in the long-term to overcome the absurd situation of millions of tonnes of grain rotting in FCI godowns along with widespread hunger…

Thus, apart from monitoring the functioning of the 9 schemes, it was felt that to emphasise the Right to Work, an estimate be made of the need/demand for work in each area, which would then be compared with the work being provided by district authorities. And the gap presented as a demand through the GS/GP to the district administration. The ongoing works would be monitored for periodicity and level of payment. Also to see that labour-displacing machinery is not used and that contractors are not being employed…

Participants also drew attention to problems faced by those already or to be displaced by dam projects or wildlife sanctuaries. In their areas all development input by the state comes to a halt, years before actual displacement. Where is the question of mid-day meals when there are no schools being run? Similar problems are faced by ‘forest villages’.

The vexed question of BPL surveys and the many flaws in their methodology was a major cause for concern. It was felt that BPL should not be used as a basis for state entitlements, given the completely unreliable nature of the list…

After a review of the situation state-wide and an analysis of the factors contributing to its gravity, the discussion shifted to a plan of action. Each organisation spelt out the roles they were willing to undertake and the geographical areas they would cover…”

4. FIGHTING FOR A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT : A LIFE FREE FROM HUNGER

On the Human Rights day activists of AIDWA took to the streets all over the country on the issue of food. A report of the massive mobilization is available at here

The following give a flavour of the report and the activity they took up over the country.

“On December 10, World Human Rights day, thousands of women all over India observed the day as one to assert the basic human right for a life free from hunger. At the call of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, women demonstrated at Central Government offices, at FCI godowns, outside State Assemblies to demand a universal public distribution system, cuts in prices of rationed foodgrains, expansion of the Antodaya system with special emphasis on widows, single women, disabled people and massive work programmes in exchange for good quality foodgrains calculated at Antodaya prices. Such actions were held in at least 100 centres in 18 States. In the Capital hundreds of women blocked the road outside the Food Ministry in a militant protest. Later a delegation comprising central AIDWA office bearers Brinda Karat, Premila Pandhe, Kalindi Deshpande and Ashalata met the Food Minister Sharad Yadav and gave him a memorandum.

10,000 women marched through the streets of Bankura in West Bengal and held a sit-in at the office of the District magistrate even while another 5000 women demonstrated in Kolkata and gave a memorandum to the Governor. Demonstrations and dharnas were held in 16 other districts of the State. In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh women broke into the FCI godown demanding distribution of the foodgrains rotting in the godown. In Kerala, in all the 13 districts women demonstrated at the FCI godowns. In Maharashtra, demonstrations and rasta rooks were held in at least ten districts including a morcha of 3000 women in Nasik and a rasta roko with 1000 women, most of them adivasi women blocking the national highway in Thalaseri in Thane district. In Jaipur, women clashed with the police who blocked them from reaching the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha. In both Bhubhaneswar and Lucknow large rallies were held outside the Vidhan Sabha. Other States like Tamilnadu, Haryana, Bihar also saw many demonstrations and mass mobilizations on similar demands.”

AIDWA has been working on the issue of hunger for many months now and have been getting a big response from women all over the country. The drought situation has affected women severely. The report points out to the inadequate response by the central government for drought resulting in low levels of employment creation. The effect has been a degradation in the status of women reflected in lower wages, increased sexual exploitation at the workplace, etc.

AIDWA called for an massive expansion in Antyodaya scheme and the food for work programme. They also pointed out that the grains given to labourers are priced at Above poverty line prices, that are well over even the market prices. They have asked for the grains given in relief employment to be priced at the antyodaya rates. They have further asked for going back to universal PDS and implementing the orders of the Supreme Court in PUCL Vs UoI and Ors.

5. RIGHT TO WORK BILL TABLED IN THE PARLIAMENT

A Bill seeking the right to work has been tabled by M. Banatwalla in the Lok Sabha (Bill No. 34 of 2002). For the full text of the Bill, see the ‘useful links’ section of the Right to Food Campaign website (http://righttofood.tripod).

The Bill seeks to ‘provide for the right to work and for allowance till such time as appropriate work is provided to any citizen, for establishment of right to work fund, for creation of right to work insurance…’. It asks for provision of ‘appropriate employment’ (depending on ‘age, qualification and strength’) to all those who are registered for a period in the employment exchanges. Till such a time ‘appropriate employment’ is provided the Bill asks for the provision of unemployment allowance of at least Rs 200 per week.

The Bill differs in significant respects from other attempts to press for an ‘employment guarantee’ oriented towards disadvantaged sections of the community. Yet it may help to revive the debate on the right to work.

Meanwhile, informal sources indicate that the government might consider introducing an employment guarantee scheme in selected parts of the country. Earlier this year, the central government announced that the 100 poorest districts in the country would be covered under a new ‘Jaya Prakash Narayan Employment Guarantee Scheme’. This was announced in the budget but little has happened after that. All we know of the scheme is that a committee sat way back in May to designate the districts. Beyond that precious little has happened not just on the ground but even on paper!

6. PADAYATRAS AND RALLY IN JHARKHAND

There has been a good deal of activity in Jharkhand during the last few weeks, much of it initiated by Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. Detailed news are awaited, but some reports have already trickled in. On 15 November, regional “swaraj padyatras” were flagged off from 5 different places in Jharkhand - Godda, Dhanbad, Palamau, Ranchi and East Singbhum. The padyatras focused on the following issues: chronic hunger and Supreme Court orders on the right to food (particularly mid-day meals); required changes in the Jharkhand Panchayati Raj Act so that Gram Sabhas get greater powers; and peace and harmony. Another round of yatras was to start on 10 December, converging in Ranchi on 20 December were further activities have been planned. The whole programme is to culminate in a massive rally in Ranchi on 22 December. According to the organizers, close to half of all villages in Jharkhand are to be reached by this programme.

7. INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

The FAO has decided to set up an intergovermental working group as per the resolution adopted at the World Food Summit – Five Years Later. The group consisting of various governments, NGOs et al will work out a set of voluntary guidelines for the right to adequate food. The process will be completed within two years.

8. ANOTHER EVALUATION OF MID-DAY MEALS IN RAJASTHAN

As part of the groundwork done for the Kelwada public hearing on 4 December (see item 1 above), an informal survey of mid-day meals in Kumbalgarh tehsil (district Rajsamand, Rajasthan) was completed by a group of students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, in association with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. The survey involved unannounced visits to 12 schools. The investigators were pleased to find that mid-day meals are in place in all schools and that the scheme seems to be widely appreciated by parents and children, especially those from disadvantaged families. The quality of the food seemed satisfactory and the quantities were also adequate. However, a number of problems and shortcomings were identified. The infrastructural arrangements are far from satisfactory, e.g. most schools still lack a cooking shed. Many teachers complained about this additional imposition on their time (they are not generally involved in cooking, but they do spend time in supervision, accounting, etc.). And children as well as parents clamoured for a more varied menu (as of now, ‘ghoogri’ is served every day in most schools). The basic conclusion of this survey is that the mid-day meal is a promising initiative, and is already achieving a great deal, but it needs to be improved and consolidated. It is also important to ensure close supervision and monitoring, involving the participation of local communities, if the mid-day meal programme is to retain its momentum and avoid getting corrupted like the PDS.

9. RIGHT TO FOOD AND THE ‘ASIAN SOCIAL FORUM’ (2-7 JAN, 2003)

The right to food is expected to figure prominently at the ‘Asian Social Forum’ in Hyderabad on 2-7 January, 2003. We shall try to circulate a summary of relevant events as soon as possible.

The Asian Social Forum is divided into (1) plenary conferences in the morning, and (2) a large number of parallel seminars and workshops in the afternoon. The ‘social infrastructure’ conference on 3 January, focuses inter alia on the right to food. A seminar on the Right to Food Campaign will be convened the next day (4 January) in the afternoon by the ‘support group’ of the campaign. Another workshop, focusing specifically on the Supreme Court hearing, has also been planned by the Support Group along with Human Rights Law Network. This would be held on the 5th January. Other events focusing on various aspects of the right to food are also expected, aside from a host of seminars on related issues such as livelihoods, health, agriculture, governance, water, etc. Quite a feast!

If you are organising a food-related seminar or workshop in Hyderabad, please send us a few lines at right2food@yahoo.co.in and we shall circulate the information in future Updates. 

UPDATE 8 

Dear friends,

Public initiatives for the right to food are rapidly gaining further momentum. The issue has been in the news on a regular basis in recent weeks, particularly in connection with reports of starvation deaths in Baran (Rajasthan) and Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh). Plenty of activities are expected during the next few weeks, including an innovative “social audit” in Rajasthan on 4 December (see Item 1 below), AIDWA-led agitations on Human Rights Day (10 December), public meetings at the Asia Social Forum in Hyderabad (2-7 January), the public hearing on “Living with Hunger” in Delhi on 10 January, and continuing campaigns in different states on different aspects of the right to food and the right to work. We are trying our best to keep up with these developments, and to post as much information as possible on the campaign website (http://righttofood.tripod). If all goes well, the website will soon feature a Hindi section.

Meanwhile, today’s headlines:

1. SOCIAL AUDIT ON FOOD SECURITY (KELWARA, RAJASTHAN, 4 DEC)

2. MADHYA PRADESH: RIGHT TO FOOD AND RIGHT TO WORK

3. KARNATAKA: MID-DAY MEALS AND SOCIAL AUDITS

4. INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

5. ORISSA: OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO PREVENT STARVATION

6. REMINDER: “LIVING WITH HUNGER” (DELHI, 10 JAN 2003)

7. OTHER REMINDERS

1. SOCIAL AUDIT ON FOOD SECURITY (KELWARA, RAJASTHAN, 4 DEC)

Against the background of severe drought in Rajasthan, an innovative “social audit” of food-related programmes is being planned by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in association with the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). This event will take place on 4 December in Kelwara (block Kumbalgarh, district Rajsamand). An open invitation letter sent by Aruna Roy on behalf of MKSS describes the event as follows:

“The severe drought in Rajasthan, and the Supreme Court's orders on food security schemes, have made it imperative that ‘model’ social audits be conducted on the implementation of the entitlements. Measures for enforcing transparency and accountability will have to be urgently evolved and institutionalised in Rajasthan, and other parts of the country. It is with this objective in mind that the MKSS along with the NCPRI is organising a Jan Sunwai on food security schemes on 4th December 2002 in Kumbalgarh Block, Rajsamand District,Rajasthan.

The MKSS has been exploring the use of the mode of Jan Sunwais or public hearings for almost a decade. Pressure brought about through public hearings on development expenditure in Panchayats, and through the Right to Information campaign, has resulted in social audit being made mandatory for all development expenditure in Rajasthan. The social audit process has shown immense potential. But for this to become a widely used and effective mode for citizens to audit government functioning, suitable procedures have to be evolved. Its scope has to spread to other spheres of citizens entitlements, and mandatory action must flow from its findings.

The Jan Sunwai in Kumbalgarh takes place in the back-drop of overflowing godowns and continuing hunger. The status of the poor in a drought affected state and the need for a long term policy for drought proofing will be examined. We also expect to look at problems of the PDS delivery machinery at the level of implementation. Our attempt will be to identify and emphasise processes that can allow citizens to control corruption, ensure delivery of entitlements and raise basic questions related to policy for ensuring food security.”

Place: Public Garden near Kelwara Bus stand

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Date: 4th December, 2002

Contact Number: 02951-250180 (Contact Person : Hameer)

Kelwara is a one hour road drive from Gomati Chauraha which is 25 kms. before Rajsamand on NH-8 as you proceed towards Udaipur. You can get jeeps or buses from the chauraha which go to kelwara via charbhuja.

2. MADHYA PRADESH: RIGHT TO FOOD AND RIGHT TO WORK

A lively consultation on the right to food took place on 25 November at the Baba Amte Centre for People’s Empowerment, district Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. Participants came all over Madhya Pradesh to discuss the monitoring of Supreme Court orders as well as other aspects of the Right to Food campaign in Madhya Pradesh. A procedure was evolved to make use of the monitoring and redressal process coordinated by Dr. N.C. Saxena, who has been appointed as Commissioner by the Supreme Court to monitor the implementation of recent orders on the right to food. There was also much discussion of extending the campaign to the right to work, especially in the light of widespread drought across Madhya Pradesh. Three specific issues were identified for follow-up action: (1) guaranteed employment in all panchayats; (2) payment of legal minimum wages; and (3) timely payment of wages. The participating organisations also resolved to initiate field surveys in their respective areas to monitor the situation.

For further details, please contact Mihir Shah at samprag@sify.com

3. KARNATAKA: MID-DAY MEALS AND SOCIAL AUDITS

Dr N. C. Saxena, Commissioner to the Supreme Court, met officials of the government of Karnataka during a recent visit to the state. He was informed that the state is planning to extend the scheme to all the districts and would hopefully start the scheme by February. The government has also made a proposal to this effect. The scheme also includes a ‘nutritional supplement’ plan that involves providing each child with: (1) two deworming tablets (albendazole, 400 mg) every six months; (2) 16 Vitamin-A tablets (25000 IU) each year, to be administered at the rate of 8 tablets every 6 months; and (3) ferrous sulphate tablet as an iron booster. This will cost Rs. 11 per child per year and 37 lakhs to the state for the whole year.

This development is happening in the wake of an active campaign in Karnataka. The issue of mid-day meals has been taken up in many different forums, most recently at a$farmers’ rally in Belgaum district. It should also be emphasized that the Government of Karnataka has shown sustained interest in mid-day meals, even before the Supreme Court order of 28 November 2001.

MORE ACTIVITIES IN KARNATAKA: A workshop on social audits was conducted recently in Bangalore. The resource persons included Nikhil Dey of MKSS and Alok Rath of ActionAid India, Bolangir. Encouraged by this experience, the participating groups have decided to take up social audits in different parts of Karnataka in the near future.

4. INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

FIAN (Food First International Action Network) held a meeting on 20-22 November in Germany, to discuss NGO strategies on the development of international voluntary guidelines on the right to food. This process is starting under the auspices of the FAO, and will proceed with an Intergovernmental Working Group where all states members will meet to discuss the establishment of these guidelines. We are yet to receive the position paper and further details of this process. More on this (in future Updates or on the website) in due course.

5. ORISSA: OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO PREVENT STARVATION

In a recent order, the Supreme Court directed all the states to prevent starvation deaths, and also stated that in the event of a confirmed starvation death, the Chief Secretary of the relevant state would be held accountable. We learn that the Chief Secretary of Orissa, prompted by this warning, has written to all the District Collectors and given them strong and clear instructions on this matter.

The letter reiterates that the Sarpanches are empowered to provide immediate gratuitous relief (GR) of food for 10 days to anyone who is threatened with starvation. The Collector and the sub-Collector are empowered to authorize prolonged GRs.

The letter goes on to say that despite all the efforts of the government, the people of KBK districts “face untimely deaths” and efforts must be taken to protect life at all cost. It adds that the collectors will be held jointly responsible along with the chief secretary.

Most importantly, the Chief Secretary has asked all the collectors to evolve procedures for regular monitoring and timely action, in consultation with people’s representatives, NGOs and other agencies. The full text of the letter is available on the campaign website (see http://www.righttofoodindia.org/events/orissa_csletter.html).

6. REMINDER: “LIVING WITH HUNGER” (DELHI, 10 JAN 2003)

As mentioned in earlier Updates, a major public hearing on hunger and starvation will be held in Delhi on 10 January, 2003. Particular attention will be given to recent instances of "starvation deaths" in different states. First-hand testimonies of these events, and of the living conditions that prevail in the affected communities, will be presented at the hearing. Going beyond this, the gathering will focus on the enormity of hunger in contemporary India, and the diverse ways in which it blights people's lives. The hearing will also be an opportunity to consider the failure of the state in addressing these issues, as well as the future direction of the Right to Food campaign.

We expect a large turnout from many different states. Please consider joining this event. “Guidelines” for the participants have been prepared and will follow in a separate mail.

7. OTHER REMINDERS

We end with assorted reminders:

(1) AIDWA is planning nation-wide agitations on the right to food on 10 December, Human Rights Day (see Update 7).

(2) The right to food will be high on the agenda at the Asia Social Forum in Hyderabad on 2-7 January (especially on 3-4 January). We hope to see you there.

(3) Please visit and publicise our webiste, http://righttofood.tripod (the same site is also available at www.righttofood.com).

(4) If your organisation has a newsletter, please consider using or reprinting items from this Update to help spread awareness of the campaign.

(5) If you are an active member of the campaign, please send us information from to time about your activities, for inclusion in future Updates. Contributions to the Right to Food Update may be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in

UPDATE 7

November 2002

Dear friends,

There has been another wave of media reports on hunger and starvation in recent weeks, triggered by stories of starvation deaths in Baran (Rajasthan), and also in Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh). Please remember the public hearing “Living with Hunger” on 10 January in Delhi, which proposes to review these tragic events and link them with the larger picture of chronic hunger around the country. The announcement is copied at the end of this message, for those who missed the earlier version.

Please note that the campaign website is now accessible at www.righttofood.com, our new domain name. The same material also remains available at the address given earlier (http://righttofood.tripod), though we plan to move everything to the new domain name in due course.

And now, today’s headlines:

E-GROUP: TECHNICAL SNAG

RALLY FOR MID-DAY MEALS IN LUCKNOW (14 NOV)

MID-DAY MEAL TO BEGIN IN WEST BENGAL

MID-DAY MEALS IN KARNATAKA AND MAHARASHTRA

PUBLIC HEARINGS IN MAHARASHTRA

ASIAN SOCIAL FORUM AND THE RIGHT TO FOOD (2-7 JAN 2003)

RTF CONSULTATION IN MADHYA PRADESH (25 NOV)

PUBLIC HEARING IN ORISSA (27 NOV)

CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD (LUCKNOW, 22 NOV)

AIDWA PLANNING DEMOS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (10 DEC)

UPDATE ON FORTHCOMING EVENTS IN JHARKHAND

“LIVING WITH HUNGER” (10 JAN 2003)

1. E-GROUP: TECHNICAL SNAG

We apologise for a technical snag in the e-group last week. The mails were getting “approved” automatically, without any action from the moderator. This was due either to a technical problem, or to the password having been hacked. To cope with this, the service had to be turned off for a few days; it is now being gradually revived.

2. RALLY FOR MID-DAY MEALS IN LUCKNOW (14 NOV)

A rally was held in Lucknow on 14 November (Children’s Day), to demand the immediate introduction of cooked mid-day meals in primary schools in Uttar Pradesh. Close to 2,000 children, parents, teachers and concerned citizens from about 12 districts participated in the rally. As the rally approached the vidhan sabha (State Assembly), the police stopped it and parked the participants in “dharna stal”, a run-down space across the road. The rally was followed by a lively public meeting, at the end of which a petition was submitted to Chief Minister Mayawati through one of her representatives. There was wide media coverage of the issue before and after the rally, and mid-day meals are now firmly on UP’s political agenda. Discussions with key officials in the Department of Education suggest that a pilot mid-day meal scheme may be introduced very soon in two blocks of each of six districts (Bharaich, Hardoi, Kaushambi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sonbhadra and Unnao).

The mid-day meal campaign in UP received a small jolt on 15 November, in the form of an insidious article published in a local paper, alleging that the organisers were having a great time at the rally while children were left uncared for. The rally was indeed stressful for many (adults and children), because of delays and hurdles that were partly due to the large turnout. But the article played up and distorted the facts, in a deliberate attempt to put the rally in a poor light. The matter has been clarified, but there is a useful lesson here for the future: at rallies and similar events, timeliness and good planning are important both for the well-being of the participants as well as to avoid adverse publicity.

3. MID-DAY MEAL TO BEGIN IN WEST BENGAL

‘Right to Food & Work –West Bengal Network’ decided to celebrate Children’s Day with a difference. Children came out in large numbers with the campaign and ‘begged’ from people to help the government implement the mid-day meal scheme! The state has been reluctant to implement the scheme owing to financial reasons. The education minister infact came out to say that it would require Rs. 600 crores to implement the scheme it is beyond the capacity of the state government.

The network came out on to the streets of Kolkata city, with almost 600 children from different primary schools of the city and suburbs. The Network was joined in its programme by other networks like the Campaign against Child Labour, the West Bengal Education Network and the Calcutta NGO Forum for Street and Working Children. The children gathered at Rani Rashmoni Avenue, near Rajbhawan, and distributed handbills. They took part in cultural programmes and above all, went “begging” from the pedestrians and other people (even from police, who were deputed so that these little chaps could not go violent !). They also prepared a memorandum on the spot, completely on their own, to hand it over to the Chief Minister, although the Chief Minister did not accept this by himself.

Other member organisations of ‘Right to Food & Work-West Bengal Network’- Paschimbanga Kshetmajoor Samity & Shramajibee Mahila Samity had taken up similar programmes at the district level on the same day. Almost 900 children had gathered on the roads in Kakdwip and Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district to “beg” from the people. They collected money from passerbys in front of Sub-Divisional Officer’s offices to draw the attention of the authorities.

500 children almost gheraoed the District Magistrate’s office in West Midnapore district and brought out a procession in the district town. They also collected money. Children also gathered and wrote letters to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court requesting his immediate intervention into the matter in various villages of Nadia and Purulia districts. 757 children altogether in these two districts expressed their demand and feeling through paintings and have sent these to the Chief Justice.T

This campaign received a lot of media publicity. After the Network declared its programme on the 13th, all major dailies in Kolkata carried the news. The very next day, during a conference of All Bengal Teachers’ Association on 14th November, the Chief Minister of the state commented that, his government is aware of the Supreme Court order regarding Midday meal scheme and also assured that, his government is committed to implement the same. This news has been carried by all major Kolkatta dailies and a pilot is expected to be started in 4 districts of the state.

To check the complete version of the report from West Bengal please check “Events” in www.righttofood.com

4. MID-DAY MEALS IN KARNATAKA AND MAHARASHTRA

The caucus for elementary education in Karnataka recently met the Education Secretary, to press for the introduction cooked mid-day meals scheme in all districts of Karnataka. Currently the programme is operationl in only 7 out of the state’s 27 districts. Initially, the team met with resistance from the Secretary who argued that a state-wide scheme was not feasible for the time being. Ultimately, however, he agreed that something needed to be done and called for a follow-up meeting where the possibility of a state-wide scheme could be examined more closely. This meeting will probably be held around mid-December.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister is reported to have stated at the recent conference of Congress CMs in Mount Abu that a full-fledged, state-wide mid-day meal scheme would be introduced relatively soon. Let’s hope he means it!

5. PUBLIC HEARINGS IN MAHARASHTRA

Just a line here to remind you that public hearings (convened by CEHAT) are soon going to be held in different parts of Maharashtra. For details, please consult the “Events” section in www.righttofood.com

6. ASIAN SOCIAL FORUM AND THE RIGHT TO FOOD (2-7 JAN 2003)

Several groups and organisations are planning to convene seminars, workshops, etc. on the right to food and related issues at the Asian Social Forum (ASF) in Hyderabad on 2-7 January. Details are awaited, meanwhile please note that the “support group” of the right to food campaign will be hosting a seminar on the right to food at the ASF, most probably on 3 JANUARY 2003. This action-oriented seminar will be an opportunity to take stock of the campaign and to consider future activities in the light of intensifying drought-related hardships across the country. The right to work is also high on the agenda.

A separate “workshop” will also be held at the ASF by the Human Rights Law Network, to discuss the public interest litigation (PIL) on the right to food in the Supreme Court. Please do your best to attend both events.

7. RTF CONSULTATION IN MADHYA PRADESH (25 NOV)

On 25 November, an important meeting (convened by Mihir Shah) will be held at the Baba Amte Kendra in Bhikupura (near Dewas), to discuss the Right to Food campaign in Madhya Pradesh and especially the monitoring of Supreme Court orders in collaboration with Dr. N.C. Saxena, who has been appointed as Commissioner by the Supreme Court for this purpose.

8. PUBLIC HEARING IN ORISSA (27 NOV)

A public hearing on the right to food will be taking place at Khariar (district Nuapada), Orissa, on 27 November. The following announcement has been received:

“For more than 35 years the Khariar region has been experiencing either drought or famine condition almost every alternative year. Lack of any concrete employment opportunities to the vulnerable and starving people further worsen such a situation. Situation like this has been compelling the people for a large migration in search of livelihood to places like Raipur, Nagpur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. This year people anticipate a condition worse than any faced so far. The primary reason behind people’s exodus is food deficiency. The different centres run by the government as relief measures act as a great source of succor to the people, but such an initiative is quite inadequate in a situation as hopeless as it is in Nuapada district. At this backdrop, AHEAD is organizing a Public Hearing on Right to Food at Khariar. This Hearing would be to arouse greater awareness among the people so that they can demand for their right to food subsequently make best use of the available social securities measures. For further information please contact Ms. Aradhana Nanda, AHEAD (tel 06670-230105 & 06671-32862, e-mail farrkld@yahoo.com & dsb@yahoo.com) or Mr. Rajkishor Mishra (tel 0674-2555765, e-mail rajkishor_mishra@hotmail.com).”

9. CONSULTATION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD (LUCKNOW, 22 NOV)

FIAN (Food First Information and Action Network), an International Human Rights Organization for Right to Feed Oneself, is organising a one-day consultation on "Status of Right to Food in Northern Region of the India" to be held in Lucknow on 22 November. The consultation is aimed understanding the problem and discussing possibilities of common action to ensure the Right to Food and Right to Survival for every individual. For more details, please contact Mr. Sanjay K Rai, FIAN International, A-8 Sarvoday Nagar, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, U.P. 226016 (fax 0522-388725, tel 0522-302944, e-mail fianup@sify.com).

Venue: Jaishankar Prasad Sabhagar, Kaisarbag, Lucknow (behind Bhatkhande Music College.

Date: 22 November (Friday), 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

10. AIDWA PLANNING DEMOS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (10 DEC)

All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) is planning protests against hunger all over India on Human Rights Day (10 December). Key demands include an extension of the Antyodaya scheme and a “universal PDS”, as recommended by the Abhijit Sen committee. According to a recent PTI news report:

“AIDWA has resolved to observe Human Rights Day on December 10 as a day to demand extension of the Antodaya scheme to all Below Poverty Line families, to widows, single women and disabled persons, [Brinda] Karat said.

Government policies have transformed drought into hunger and deprivation due to lack of alternative work schemes, absence of policies to ensure availability of affordable food, she said adding, the BPL stocks are lying unused because women cannot afford to buy the grains given the lack of work.

'We demand not charity but work, is what women are saying but the government has refused to listen, even ignoring the recommendations of its own Committee,' she said.

Karat said in all the states it has been observed that 'hunger is the single biggest issue today that is devaluing women's status and women are forced to work at the rock bottom level wages and tolerate humiliation to ensure foodgrains for the family”.

The story is available at http://in.news.yahoo.com/021114/20/1xqeo.html. A link to the Abhijit Sen Committee report is available in the “Useful links” section of www.righttofood.com

11. UPDATE ON FORTHCOMING EVENTS IN JHARKHAND

The state of Jharkhand has an active campaign for the right to food and many events have been organised in the past year. A series of further events are being planned for the next few weeks, including the following:

1. 14th Nov.: A dharna of Children in the District court Campus demanding mid-day meal. Submission of children's signatures to the President of India (through post) and a copy to be submitted to the DC.

2. 20th November: A mass rally (with participants from the three districs of Palamau, Garhwa and Latehar) demanding drought relief and implementation of food related schemes (particularly PDS and Antyodaya). Memorandum to be submitted to the Commissioner and the District supply Officer of Palamau.

3. Contact campaign to start in Palamau, Garhwa and Latehar from 15th November and to continue till 30th of November. Local meetings, etc. will take place. This may cover about 100-120 villages.

4. Regional Swaraj Yatra to be started on 10th December, to be continued till 20th December. This covers 80-85 villages about 10 blocks of Palamau, Garhwa and Latehar. Details are to be worked out.

For more details please contact Balram at balram_gsa@yahoo.co.in or balramjee@rediffmail.com

12. “LIVING WITH HUNGER” (10 JAN 2003)

As mentioned in an earlier announcement (copied below, for those who missed it), a public hearing on hunger and starvation will be held in Delhi on 10 January 2003. This event is coordinated by the “support group” of the right to food campaign. Guidelines for the participants are on the anvil and will be circulated soon. Regular updates will also be posted in the “Events” section at www.righttofood.com

UPDATE 6

Dear friends, 

There has been action on many fronts in recent weeks, and many further activities are expected during the next few months. Please note that these "Updates" does not cover all the activities of the Right to Food campaign. We are doing our best to keep track of what is happening in different states, and to spread the information; but it is in the nature of this decentralised campaign that much is happening on the ground without necessarily coming to our notice. There is a good deal of further information on the campaign website (http://righttofood.tripod). Please consider helping us to improve the spread of information by sending us details of any relevant activities in your area. 

A new feature called "digest of mails" has been added to the Updates. This is a means of circulating summaries of miscellaneous mails received, without bombarding you with messages. For further details, see item 9 below. 

And now for today's headlines: 

1. LATEST SUPREME COURT HEARING (29 OCTOBER, 2002) 

2. STARVATION IN BARAN: ACTION CONTINUES 

3. JHARKHAND: FORTHCOMING EVENTS 

4. UTTAR PRADESH: PUBLIC RALLY ON CHILDREN'S DAY (14 NOVEMBER) 

5. ORISSA: PUBLIC HEARING ON 28 NOVEMBER 

6. ASIA SOCIAL FORUM (HYDERABAD, 2-7 JANUARY 2003) 

7. PUBLIC HEARING ON "LIVING WITH HUNGER" (DELHI, 10 JANUARY 2003) 

8. CAMPAIGN WEBSITE UPGRADED 

9. DIGEST OF MAILS - A NEW FEATURE 

10. REMINDERS 

1. LATEST SUPREME COURT HEARING (29 OCTOBER, 2002) 

The Supreme Court heard the right to food case again on 29 October 2002. The hearing started with the submission of a report by Dr N. C. Saxena, who has been appointed as Commissioner by the Supreme Court for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of recent interim orders. The report be available shortly at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/comrs/reports/one.html. A brief account of the 29 October hearing follows below. 

(NB: In earlier "Updates", it was stated that Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran had been appointed as Commissioners. Unbeknown to us, Mr. Sankaran had meanwhile written to the Ministry declining his post. Thus, as of now there is a single Commissioner, Dr. N.C. Saxena. Apologies for the confusion.) 

Starvation Deaths

The report of the Commissioner included a list of recent media reports of starvation deaths. When this was read out, the Attorney General Mr. Soli Sorabjee argued that the reports were not reliable and drew the attention of the bench to a recent article published in India Today (Nov 4th Issue), which claims to "debunk" some recent media reports of starvation deaths in Orissa. To this the bench replied that we should have some means of verifying the claims, and that the 'assistants to the Commissioners' (to be appointed in each state) might be able to help in this respect. 

The following order was issued: "It is the duty of each States/Union Territories to prevent deaths due to starvation or malnutrition. If the Commissioner reports and it is established to the satisfaction of the Court that starvation death has taken place, the Court may be justified in presuming that its orders have not been implemented and the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of the States/ Union Territories may be held responsible for the same." 

Expanding Food for Work 

Pointing out that grave hunger continued despite Supreme Court orders, Mr. Colin Gonsalvez (counsel to the petitioner) argued for a major expansion of the current Food For Work programme. This would require the centre to raise the allocation of free grain to the states to 20 million tones, and the cash component to Rs 10,000 crores (as recommended by the Abhijit Sen committee). The Attorney General Mr. Soli Sorabjee questioned the need for an increase in allocation for the state governments when the States were not lifting the existing quotas. This led to an extended and rather confusing discussion, at the end of which the bench decided to wait for a report form the Commissioner before taking a decision. 

Advisors to the Commissioners 

Colin Gonsalves then read a list of persons chosen by the Commissioner (Dr. Saxena) to advise him, and requested the court to incorporate these names in an order. This would help the advisers to gain legitimacy with the state governments, and to ensure that their requests for information are favourably received. In an unexpected turn, the bench suggested that if information was a problem, it could ask the state governments to appoint officers as assistants to the Commissioner in each state. They said that this arrangement would be better than having 'advisors' who are private individuals. The bench then ordered each state to appoint an assistant to the Commissioner, who would both supply relevant information to the Commissioner and liaise with the nodal officers appointed by each state. (NB: Each state is already supposed to have appointed a "nodal officer" to liaise with the Commissioner.) 

Further Court Directions 

In further directions, the Supreme Court gave the state governments one last chance to translate its orders and publicize them, where this has not happened. The full text of 29 October order is available on the campaign website (see http://www.righttofoodindia.org/orders/oct29.html). 

2. STARVATION IN BARAN: ACTION CONTINUES 

The state of Rajasthan recently came under intense scrutiny, following reports of a wave of starvation deaths in Baran. PUCL (Rajasthan) and other organisations mounted pressure on the government and presented the Chief Minister a memorandum of actions to be taken. The government took up most of the recommendations and posted many senior officers in the district to oversee the operations. It has also raised the "labour ceiling" on relief works both for that area and for other places in Rajasthan (from 7 lakhs person-days this month to 9 lakhs). 

The letter to the Chief Minister along with the PUCL report is available at 

http://www.righttofoodindia.org/events/rajasthan.html 

3. JHARKHAND: FORTHCOMING EVENTS 

In Jharkhand, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan is planning a series of activities in November and December, culminating in a large rally in Ranchi on 22 December. 

On 15 November, local padyatras will begin in five different locations: Santal Parganas, Garhwa, Nimdi, Ranchi and Koderma. The padyatras will focus on several related themes: (1) gram swaraj; (2) the right to food; (3) peace and harmony; and (4) transparent and accountable governance. An important part of the background of these padyatras is the prospect of panchayat elections in Jharkhand in early 2003. Panchayat elections have not been held in Jharkhand for several decades. 

From 10 December onwards, the padyatras will converge towards Ranchi, reaching there on 19 December. This will be followed by two days of seminars and discussions on the above themes, on 20-21 December in Ranchi. On 22 December, a public rally will take place in Ranchi, ending with a "gram sansad". 

For further information, please contact Balram at balramjee@rediffmail.com or Byomkesh at byomkeshk@rediffmail.com. 

4. UTTAR PRADESH: PUBLIC RALLY ON CHILDREN'S DAY (14 NOVEMBER) 

In Uttar Pradesh, plans are afoot for a public rally on Children's Day (14 November), to demand the immediate introduction of cooked mid-day meals in all primary schools. Thousands of parents and children are expected from different parts of the state. Several teachers' organisations have also agreed to support the rally - a significant development in view of the ambivalent position of teachers' organisations on mid-day meals in many states. The participants are hoping to meet Chief Minister Mayawati and remind her about the Suprme Court order on mid-day meals. If all goes well, the rally on 14 November will be followed by a 24 hour dharna outside the State Assembly. 

The rally will begin at 10 am at Char Bagh, near the railway station. All are welcome. For further information, please contact Awaz at awazlko@hotmail.com (tel 0522-715 500). 

5. ORISSA: PUBLIC HEARING ON 28 NOVEMBER 

A major public hearing will be taking place in Bhubaneswar on 28 November, to mark the anniversary of the 28 November 2001 order of the Supreme Court (available at http://www.righttofoodindia.org/orders/interimorders.html). This initiative is coordinated by CLAP (Committee for Legal Aid to Poor), contactable at ctk_committee@sancharnet.in. Further details will be posted soon. 

6. ASIA SOCIAL FORUM (HYDERABAD, 2-7 JANUARY 2003) 

As most of our readers would know, the first Asia Social Forum will be taking place on 2-7 January 2003 in Hyderabad (for details about the event, you can look at www.wsfindia.org. This event is an offshoot of the "World Social Forum" process, which began in Porto Allegre (Brazil). A wide range of activist organisations from all over India are expected to take part in this crucial gathering. 

As part of this forum, the "support group" of the Right to Food Campaign is planning to host a seminar and a sharing workshop. The seminar will be an opportunity for exchange and dialogue between various groups that have been working on the right to food, and/or on the right to work. Information about the Supreme Court hearing and the Right to Food Campaign will be shared and discussed at the seminar. You are cordially invited to join the seminar, and to send any suggestions you may have regarding the format and content of the discussions (suggestions and comments may be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in). We will keep you posted on the events. 

The sharing workshop, just after the seminar, will focus specifically on the Supreme Court hearing. It will be an opportunity for interested participants to learn more about the details of this public interest litigation, and to contribute any suggestions they may have. 

7. PUBLIC HEARING ON "LIVING WITH HUNGER" (DELHI, 10 JANUARY 2003) 

As mentioned in an earlier announcement (sent last week), a major public hearing on hunger and starvation will be taking place in Delhi on 10 January, 2003. The overarching theme is "living with hunger". As you know, there have been widespread reports of extreme hunger and even "starvation deaths" in different parts of India during the last few months. Aside from these dramatic events, hunger and undernutrition quietly haunt the lives of millions of women, men and children on a day-to-day basis. Aside from being intolerable in its own right, this situation reflects gross violations of recent Supreme Court directives on the right to food. 

A wake-up call is badly needed. State authorities need to be held accountable to this situation, and the conscience of the nation also needs to be stirred. With this in mind, the support group of the Right to Food campaign is planning to convene a public hearing on hunger and starvation in New Delhi on 10 January 2003. 

Economist Amartya Sen, writer Mahashweta Devi and nutritionist Shanti Gosh have agreed to participate. Our thanks to all those who have already responded to the call for participating in this public hearing. If you missed the earlier announcement, you can catch up with the details in 

http://www.righttofoodindia.org/events/public_hearing.html 

If you are planning to participate in the Asia Social Forum in Hyderabad on 2-7 January (see above), you may wish to book your tickets back home through Delhi in order to participate in the public hearing. In any case, early travel arrangements are advisable. 

A follow-up meeting will be held on 11 January, to discuss future activities of the Right to Food Campaign. This is an important event, as the campaign may need to be stepped up in view of the drought conditions in many states. It has also been suggested that this opportunity could be used for various advocacy activities on 11 January itself, such as sending delegations to the Prime Minister, President, opposition leaders, etc. Further suggestions are welcome. 

8. CAMPAIGN WEBSITE UPGRADED 

The campaign website (http://righttofood.tripod) has been reorganised and expanded. Please remember to take a look from to time, and also to spread the news about this website. It is a crucial means of communication for the campaign. 

The website includes a new section called "Events". Please consider sending us information on any relevant activities in your area, we will post it in this section. The events have to pertain to the Right to Food Campaign. 

9. DIGEST OF MAILS - A NEW FEATURE 

As this E-group continues to expand, we are receiving a growing number of miscellaneous mails for dissemination in the group. Since we are committed to avoid flooding you with messages, we are adding a new service with the updates - "Digest of mails". From now on, such a digest will feature in most "Updates". It will have a summary of the miscellaneous messages, with a link to the complete message (whenever possible) for those who are interested. 

While most of the mails we receive are pertinent to the campaign, some are not. We regret to inform you that we will not be able to circulate irrelevant mails. All pertinent mails will feature in the Digests. We apologise for the delay in circulating some of the mails. With this feature becoming regular, we hope to disseminate in time. 

Here is the first Digest: 

ITEM 1: UP APPOINTS A HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 

Uttar Pradesh has appointed a HRC after pressure from the civil society. The mail contains the details of the composition of the commission. 

ITEM 2: PUCL INVITES YOU TO THE 5TH STATE CONVENTION IN CHITORGARH (RAJASTHAN) ON 23-24 November 2002 

PUCL Rajasthan is having its convention to which you are invited. They are looking at this Convention as an opportunity to consolidate and plan afresh strategies for addressing human rights in the State. Simultaneous one-day discussion workshops have been planned on the following themes: security legislations and custodial violence, dalit rights, rights of minorities and drought and food security, deaths and damage due to landmines, expansion of the nuclear bomb and energy programme in Rajasthan, revival of Sati and its glorification etc. 

ITEM 3: SUTRADHAR OPEN FORUM - Bangalore, 9 November 2002 

The government-run ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) has over 40,000 anganwadi centres in Karnataka. These offer a cluster of services such as health, education and nutrition to ensure early childhood development, the first step towards equal educational opportunity for all. Lakshmi Krishnamurthy & Vani Periodi will share with us their study on anganwadi centres in Karnataka. The discussion will be both in English and Kannada. 

ITEM 4: THE SITUATION IN BARAN AND CALL FOR HELP 

Komal Srivastava calls for help in Baran, Rajasthan and gives an account of the situation there, the government response, etc. 

To read the full text of the mails, please check 

http://www.righttofoodindia.org/links/digest.html 

The mails of the previous 2 weeks would be kept in this section. 

10. REMINDERS 

We end with the usual reminders: 

1. Please visit/publicise our webiste, http://righttofood.tripod 

2. If your organisation has a newsletter, please consider using or reprinting items from this Update to help spread awareness of the campaign. 

3. If you are an active member of the campaign, please send us information from to time about your activities, for inclusion in future Updates. Contributions to the Right to Food Update may be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in.

UPDATE 5

Dear Friends,

The Support Group has been working constantly to improve the flow of information regarding the Right to Food Campaign. Two most important initiatives have been the E-group (where in you are receiving this mail) and the website. We request you to help us in 1) spreading the information by spreading the word about the website & send us e-mail ids of people whom you think would be interested in receiving the update mails; 2) Tell us what is happening in your side regarding the campaign.

A new link called events has been added wherein we hope to put information on various events that are happening in the states. I request you to use it. You could think of it as a 'home page' for your event. Have things about your event, the parchas you are using and other things in the website. All you need to do is to type things in MS Word and mail it to us. We will do the rest for you and send you the link. We have made a beginning with some `barebones' information about events happening in Orissa here.

And now for today's headlines:

1. PUBLIC HEARING AND WORKSHOP IN ORISSA

2. HUNGER DEATHS IN BARAN DIST. OF RAJASTHAN

3. A PIL ON CORRUPTION IN THE PDS SYSTEM

4. PUNJAB STARTS MID-DAY MEALS

5. RALLY FOR COOKED MID-DAY MEALS IN LUCKNOW ON NOVEMBER 14, 2002

1. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND WORKSHOP IN ORISSA - KALAHANDI, BOLANGIR & BHUBANESWAR

We organised two Public Hearings one in Bolangir and other in Kalahandi district on 20th and 22nd October respectively. Also under the banner of "Right to Food Campaign - Orissa Chapter we are planning to organise one sharing workshop at Bhubaneswar on 24th October 2002.

The public hearing in Kalahandi received a good response from the people, but no government official participated. The concluding memorandum of the hearing is copied below.

CONCLUDING MEMORANDUM

A public hearing on the right to food was held at village Kaniguma (block Thuamul Rampur, district Kalahandi) on 22 October 2002. The hearing was attended by hundreds of tribals from five surrounding panchayats. The following is a brief summary of the main observations and complaints that emerged at the hearing concerning the functioning of basic-needs programmes in the area.

EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

- Wage payments on local public works programmes are delayed, sometimes for months.

- Wage rates on local public works programmes are much below the legal minimum wage.

- Not enough work is available on public works programmes, especially in the remote villages, especially during stressful periods such as the present drought.

PENSIONS

- Number of pensions sanctioned for widowed, elderly and disabled persons is far below requirement. The quotas should be increased, especially for widows.

- Sometimes the names recommended by the palli sabha are "changed" at the block office. (One person explained that this might be because some of the names are not of BPL households.)

- Some participants complained that they can't get a pension without paying a bribe, and that they are too poor to pay the bribe.

- Pensions are given mainly in the more accessible villages; the remote villages are left out. In the remote villages, often people don't even know about these schemes.

- Pensions are not paid regularly. Because of delayed pensions, destitute persons are often unable to lift the BPL rice from the ration shop.

- No-one among the participants received a disability pension, even though many of the families present had disabled members.

PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

- Many people are unable to lift the BPL rice because they don't have enough cash, or they don't have cash at the right time.

- Many ration shops open for only a few days each month, which makes it difficult for poor families to lift their rice as they may not have cash at that particular time.

- The BPL price (Rs 5/kg) is so close to the market price (about Rs 6/kg) that people get little benefit from the PDS, especially taking into account the low quality of PDS rice. (Note: The official price is Rs 4.75/kg but illegal commissions are being charged, raised the price to Rs 5/kg.)

- Some participants complained of fake entries being made in the ration cards.

- In some remote villages, the BPL rice doesn't reach because the transportation allowances are very low.

INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (ICDS)

- Because of low provisions for transportation costs, anganwadi workers are unable to provide food to the children in the remote villages.

- There are complaints that ICDS food is being appropriated by private parties in some villages.

- Because of poor functioning of ICDS centres, looking after young children is a big problem for many mothers. Some are unable to send their elder children to school because the elder children are needed to look after younger siblings. Others are constrained to leave young children unattended at home when they go to the forest.

- Expectations from anganwadi workers do not match with their limitations.

SCHOOLING

- There is widespread teacher absenteeism in the local schools, especially in the remote villages. In one village, it was reported that teacher has been seen for the last 15 years, even though the villagers built a house for him.

- When schools remain closed because teachers are absent, children don't get the mid-day meal.

- In some villages, delinquant teachers harass people who attempt to submit complaints to the authorities.

- In some residential schools, no food is provided and there is no teaching either, so the children stay away.

- Some applications for EGS schools have been unsuccessful even though the village satisfied the requirements.

- In some schools, teachers "train" some pupils to give rosy answers about mid-day meals in the event of an inspector's visit. As one participant describes it, these children are even trained to say that they have eaten eggs at school, even if they ate local papayas.

OTHER COMPLAINTS

- One widespread complaint is that villages are inaccessible, and approach roads have either not been constructed or their condition is very poor.

- Lack of drinking water is another common problem.

- There is widespread corruption in many of the above-mentioned schemes.

- People's complaints are not being heard. Some of them spend considerable time and money to submit complaints at the Block or District offices, without result.

- Illegal commissions are being charged in all food-related schemes.

A report on the hearing and the letter to various offices of the government is available here

2. HUNGER DEATHS IN BARAN DIST. OF RAJASTHAN

The sahriya tribe is a very vulnerable group in Rajasthan and the Government has not focussed on there plight. They live in a situation of chronic hunger and deprivation. Their food security is tied to the agri - forest economy. With the rainfall being less than 30 % of the annual average therehas been a severe breakdown of their livelihood support base. They have been left to fend for themselves with hardly any State intervention coming to their rescue.

A team including PUCL studied more than 18 deaths which included four adults and the rest were children The situation in the two tehsils of Kishanganj and Shabad, which Sahariya dominated is very bad. Most people are not getting two square meals a day. They are living of rotis made out of a grass seed. Eating a wild green called phang. The able bodied spend the entire day digging medicinal roots which they then sell to a contractor who comes from MP at five rupees a kg. In the areas where we went grain a gratuitious relief had been distributed, five kgs per family after the incident of death or only recently after the deaths caused the pulling up of the administration.

The government had sent a medical team to inspect the deaths, and have been claiming that the deaths were not due to starvation. A large rally of over 1,500 people was organized in Jaipur on the 21st and a delegation of 20 went to meet the Chief Minister. A set of demands have been placed on the CM regarding the plight of people and demanding immediate and greatly enhanced relief work.

To read the report of the barn issue and the letter to the chief minister, please clickhere.

3. A PIL ON CORRUPTION IN THE PDS SYSTEM

PUCL (U.P.) has filed a petition in the Allahabad H. Court regarding corruption in the public distribution system. Having documented corruption in the system in the District of Balia, the petitioner is praying for an inquiry committee to be set by the court. The petition is available here.

4. PUNJAB STARTS MID-DAY MEALS

The government of Punjab has decided to get started to provide cooked mid-day meal in certain districts. The programme was launched in a test basis in 17 blocks, one in each district. The pilot will go on for 50 days. A newspaper report in Tribune suggested that the Government of Punjab will file an affidavit in the Supreme Court based on the results of the pilot.

5. RALLY FOR COOKED MID-DAY MEALS IN LUCKNOW ON NOVEMBER 14, 2002

Protesting the non-implementation of the order of the Supreme Court in uttar pradesh, various groups are planning a rally in Lucknow on children's day.

The Uttar Rradesh government has blatantly violated the order of the Supreme Court to provide cooked mid-day meal in all government and government aided primrary schools. There are signs of this happening in many states. UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and some other states have displayed no signs of starting the scheme.

Details about the rally, the location, etc. will be posted soon in the website. To check them out and the other events, please click here.

UPDATE 4

Dear friends, 

This is the fourth “Right to Food Update”, with news from the Right to Food campaign around the country. For those who are new to the list, earlier Updates are available on the campaign website: 

www.righttofood.tripod 

The website also contains wide-ranging information on other aspects of the campaign, with further material to be added soon. Please spread the word about this website, and consider using it from time to time

And now, today’s “headlines”: 

1. Further progress on mid-day meals 

2. State GOVERNMENTS reply to the commissioners 

3. Agitations planned on Children’s Day (14 November) 

4. Public hearings on hunger and the right to food 

5. Maharashtra: “Anna Adhikar Abhiyan” LAUNCHED 

6. Recent additions to the website 

1. Further progress on mid-day meals 

There have been many developments relating to mid-day meals. Some of them are summarised below, for further details please consult the website (www.righttofood.tripod): 

1.1. More states introduce MDMs 

Andhra Pradesh has finally decided to introduce mid-day meals in primary schools. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was due to inaugurate the scheme on 2 October, but this has been postponed due to last-minute hurdles. Meanwhile, Karnataka has introduced mid-day meals in 7 districts on a pilot basis, with encouraging results so far. 

After the rapping received in the Court a few weeks ago, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has also decided to introduce cooked mid-day meals in its “sarvodaya schools”. Until now, glucose biscuits of dubious quality were being given. A biscuit scam rocked the Assembly a few years back, in 1995-96. Last year, officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi admitted publicly that they were serving biscuits from the previous year’s stock. 

Times of India reports that UP’s Chief Minister Mayawati had discussed the mid-day meal scheme with the PM during her visit to Delhi on 29 June 2002. The report says, “Vajpayee was urged to ‘remove the anomaly’ following a November 28, 2001 judgment regarding cooked mid-day meals in schools which has cost UP government an additional Rs 644 crores recurring expenditure and Rs. 684 crores as non-recurring expenses every academic year”. Mid-day meals, however, are still nowhere to be seen in UP (see also below). 

1.2. Financing issues 

Lack of financial resources has emerged as the crucial reason for delay in implement the Supreme Court order on mid-day meals in many states. State governments constantly claim that they do not have the money to implement the scheme. However, this objection does not stand close scrutiny. The Karnataka experience suggests that a well-designed MDM programme costs around Re 1 per child per day to the state government (the central government provides the grain, free of cost). Knowledgeable economists consider this to be well within the fiscal capabilities of state governments, if they give mid-day meals the priority they deserve. This was, for instance, the view taken by Dr. Manmohan Singh in a private discussion with members of the Right to Food campaign. Similarly, Dr. John Kurian of the Planning Commission pointed out that a small surcharge on liquor taxes would be quite enough, in most states, to finance mid-day meals. 

On the specific case of West Bengal (where the state government is facing a serious fiscal crisis), we received the following comment from a well-known economist who recently participated in an expert review of WB’s finances: “It is indeed ridiculous for the West Bengal government to object to the midday meal scheme on financial grounds. Yes, they are going through a budget crisis (largely of their own making) and they are even delaying paying some salaries and pensions… West Bengal's inferior finances compared to other states is largely due to the laxity of the government in tax collection…”

2. STATE GOVERNMENTS REPLY TO THE COMMISSIONERS 

As mentioned in earlier Updates, the Supreme Court has appointed Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran as “Commissioners” for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of recent orders relating to the right to food. The Commissioners are hoping to be helped by an “advisor” in each state. The advisors are expected to watch the implementation of SC orders in the state, foster the development of suitable accountability procedures, liaise with the state government, and coordinate with the Commissioners on various other issues. 

Various states have started replying to letters sent by the Commissioners. Primarily, they have been sending information on the allocation and use of funds and foodgrain under the SGRY scheme. In the days to come this may prove useful in tracking the plans of the governments regarding drought relief and other employment programmes. A summary of the replies from state governments will be sent in a separate mail. 

Since the states typically claim that they are complying with the orders of the Supreme Court, follow-up queries have been sent asking for some pinpointed details. Like the affidavits submitted by state governments to the Supreme Court, the responses received often speak volumes about the attitudes of state governments towards the right to food. For instance, a recent reply from the Government of Maharashtra to queries relating to mid-day meals begins by explaining that “10 districts have been covered so far” under the mid-day meal scheme, acknowledges further down that 28 blocks are covered out of 341 blocks, and ends up admitting that only 1321 primary schools out of 74,000 are actually providing mid-day meals. This is no great surprise since the state government contributes only Re 0.25 per child per day towards mid-day meals

3. AGITATIONS PLANNED ON CHILDREN’S DAY (14 NOVEMBER) 

In Uttar Pradesh, a coalition of organisations is planning a massive rally for mid-day meals on 14 November (Children’s Day). This event is informally coordinated by “Awaaz”, a Lucknow-based organisation of media activists. For further details, please write to awazlko@hotmail.com. 

Discussions have also been held in other states regarding the possibility of MDM-focused agitations on Children’s Day (14 November) and/or on 28 November, the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s interim order. Further details are awaited and will be announced in future Updates. If you are planning anything in your own state or locality, please inform right2food@yahoo.co.in

4. Public hearings on hunger and the right to food 

A wave of public hearings on hunger and the right to food is expected during the next few weeks/months. Here again, details are awaited (particularly from Karnataka and West Bengal), but some initial information follows: 

ORISSA: Public hearings will be held in Bolangir on 20 October, and in Thuamul Rampur (Kalahandi) on 22 October, with a follow-up programme in Bhubaneswar on 24 October. The public hearing in Thuamul Rampur is convened by Lok Adhikar Samukhya, a coalition of about 50 local organisations. Further details can be obtained from Rajkishor Mishra (rajkishor_mishra@hotmail.com) and Dilip Das (secretary, Lok Adhikar Samukhya, tel 06670-32038). 

JHARKHAND: Agitations in response to recent reports of starvation deaths in Palamau continue. Dharnas have been held in Ranchi on 4 October and in Daltonganj (Palamau) on 7 October. We are informed that these activities “may be followed by an indefinite dharna in Palamau if the government fails to speed up relief work”. “Awareness padyatras” will be taking place in different parts of Jharkhand from mid-November until 10 December. A large demonstration is also expected to take place in Ranchi on 22 December. Further details are awaited. 

MAHARASHTRA: A series of public hearings has been planned for mid-November. See below

5. Maharashtra: “Anna Adhikar Abhiyan” LAUNCHED 

On 12 September, 40 representatives from Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Sangli, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Beed, Raigad, and Thane districts participated in a meeting organized by Jan Arogya Abhiyan (state unit of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan). A significant cross-section of people's organisations, groups working on food security and womens' groups from various parts of the state were represented. The groups decided to start ‘Anna Adhikar Abhiyan’ as a nodal point for groups working on right to food. The groups have also decided to go ahead with some of the following activities:

(1) A series of public hearings, to be conducted across Maharashtra in mid–November. These public hearings will focus on nutrition-related schemes and the corresponding Supreme Court orders. 

(2) A survey of the food-related schemes in October. 

(3) A comprehensive dialogue with the government at various levels. 

(4) Six groups have been designated to monitor the functioning of the schemes and to coordinate with the Commissioners. 

This would be one of the first set of events organized under the banner of Right to Food Campaign in Maharashtra this year. A large number of organizations participated in the events of action day on April 9, 2001. But this step will hopefully step up the campaign activities in a large way 

6. Recent additions to the website 

The website is being improved regularly with more information and features for easier navigation. The following are now available on the site: 

i) Updates 

ii) Events, both past and present. You can post details of upcoming events (pertaining to the campaign) and read the posts, by others. The titles of events and the contact persons are posted now. We hope to make it more descriptive soon 

iii) Links to newspaper articles on mid-day meal scheme. Check this out under useful links. We will have sections on drought, food for work, etc. soon 

iv) A paper by Dr N C Saxena on food schemes, their promises and problems (access it from useful links)

UPDATE 3

Dear friends,

The main recent development is a long hearing in the Supreme Court on 3rd September. A range of issues were discussed in the hearing, including mid-day meals, social security and the right to work. The first three items in the "headlines" below relate to this hearing.

Today's headlines:

1. Mid-day meals: supreme court pulls up "delinquent states"

2. Further progress with the proposal for "ending destitution"

3. West bengal: workshop on the right to food and work

4. Pondichery breakfast scheme runs into trouble

5. Starvation deaths in karnataka and orissa

6. Reminders

1. MID-DAY MEALS: SUPREME COURT PULLS UP "DELINQUANT STATES"

On 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court directed all States and UTs to introduce cooked mid-day meals in all government and government- assisted primary schools within six months. Nine months later, many (in fact most) states are yet to introduce mid-day meals. They complain of lack of funds for the purpose. Taking a serious view of the situation, the Supreme Court stated on 3rd September that it cannot entertain this excuse for not implementing the order. It put the states on "verbal notice" that they have to decide by Monday 9th September to implement the scheme. Failing that, the court may allot

money for the scheme directly from the centre and deduct this from central grants to the states. These statements, prominently reported the next day in front-page articles published in Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, apparently sent shock waves in the Planning Commission and Finance Ministry. (Update: The hearing on Monday 9th September has been adjourned.)

2. FURTHER PROGRESS WITH THE PROPOSAL FOR "ENDING DESTITUTION"

At the 3rd September hearing, the GoI agreed in principle to the application on destitution, which puts forward a proposal for a major programme of food-based social security for destitute households. The government has asked

for 4 months to frame the details of the programme. On 9 September, an inter-ministerial meeting was held for further discussion of this proposed programme. Despite some opposition from a representative of the Finance Ministry, the proposal was positively received (further details of the outcome of this meeting are awaited). We expect further rapid progress on this front during the next few weeks.

3. WEST BENGAL: WORKSHOP ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK

In West Bengal, the "network for the right to food and work" proposes to conduct a workshop on 25-26 September. The programme includes a situation analysis relating to the right to food, the right to work, government schemes, and the status of the case in the Supreme Court. Also on the agenda are the strategies for the campaign, the campaign

structure, and other issues. Specifically, the workshop hopes to develop a plan of action for the Action Day being planned under the banner "Godam Kholo, Kam Do".

4. PONDICHERY BREAKFAST SCHEME RUNS INTO TROUBLE

On 14th August 2002, the Government of Pondichery introduced a Breakfast scheme with some fanfare. The scheme covers all children in government schools up to class 10, and involves the provision of bread and milk as breakfast. This pioneering scheme ran into some trouble last week when children in a school fell ill with food poisoning. This turned out to be due to the bad quality of the milk. The programme was suspended for a couple of days, but is now

back on track. This experience underlines the importance of the quality aspects of mid-day meal programmes, which have been a major concern of the Right to Food campaign.

5. STARVATION DEATHS IN KARNATAKA AND ORISSA

There were media reports this week of starvation deaths in Karnataka and Orissa. The governments rushed teams to "investigate" these deaths. It is safe to expect that they will return with the news that the deaths were not due to starvation. The Karnataka team is planning to get the help of doctors in the area to investigate and document the death.

Starvation deaths are complicated to document since the immediate cause of death is generally some disease due to weakening of the body and loosing the power of resistance. Dr. Abhay Shukla of CEHAT has worked on developing a method of documenting starvation deaths, looking not just at the immediate cause of a death but also at the long-term events that have an effect on the body. It may become important for the campaign to document starvation deaths systematically, if we are to debunk official claims of deaths being due to diseases and other immediate causes.

6. REMINDERS

Please remember to help spread awareness of the campaign by

reprinting items from these "Updates" in your organisation's

newsletter, if possible. Our thanks to Dr. Shabhunath Singh Research Foundation and www.humanrightskerala.com for deciding to publish items from earlier updates in the bimonthly newsletter "Paharua", and in the "Children" and "This India" columns of the website. Thanks to VANI also for venturing to print news about the two Supreme Court

applications in its newsletter.

UPDATE 2

Dear friends,

(1) If your organisation has a newsletter, please consider reprinting portions of these updates in the newsletter, to help spread awareness about the campaign.

(2) If you are an active member of the campaign, please send us information from to time about your activities, for inclusion in future Updates. Contributions to the Right to Food Update may be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in.

And now, today's "headlines":

1. Further progress with the application on "ending destitution".

2. National meeting on "monitoring and redressal" procedures

3. Work on the monitoring system starts

4. Orissa: Survey of mid-day meals and ICDS

5. Karnataka: Status of mid-day meal scheme

6. West Bengal: Official harassment in Puruliya

7. Uttar Pradesh: Children agitate for mid-day meals

8. Rajasthan: "Akal Sangharsh Samiti" revived with a bang

1. FURTHER PROGRESS WITH THE PROPOSAL FOR "ENDING DESTITUTION"

In the first Update, we mentioned that the Right to Food "support group" had prepared a proposal for a large-scale programme of food-based social security for destitute households. This proposal builds on the findings of our recent evaluation of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana programme. It suggests a much larger version of this programme,with inclusion of certain "priority groups" as a matter of right,larger monthly entitlements, stronger accountability procedures, and various modifications to improve the functioning of the programme. 

This proposal has been submitted to the Supreme Court. It has also been discussed with the Food Minister, Shri Sharad Yadav, and sent to the Finance Minister.

On 15 August, we were happily surprised to find that the proposal had found its way into the Prime Minister's speech from the Red Fort. Indeed, he announced a new programme of food-based social security for the destitute, using much the same words as our proposal: "Alleviation of hunger among the most vulnerable sections of the society - such as

old people, widows and disabled persons without family or societal support - will be an important component of the initiative on Life-Time Concerns. Accordingly, extending the scope of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, and taking advantage of the surplus stock of foodgrains, the Government will operationalise a major food-based social security for the destitute." 

We are also glad to find that the essence of the proposal has been taken on board in the final report of the "high level committee on long-term foodgrain policy" (also known as the Abhijit Sen committee report). The report is available on the website of the Food Ministry.

2. NATIONAL MEETING ON "MONITORING AND REDRESSAL" PROCEDURES

As mentioned in Update 1, the Supreme Court has recently appointed Dr.N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran as "Commissioners" for the purpose of monitoring recent Supreme Court orders relating to the right to food. Following on this, a national meeting was held on 9-10 August 2002 at Indian Social Institute, Delhi, to discuss ways of assisting the Commissioners in their work. This is also an opportunity to develop extensive monitoring and redressal procedures in different states, with the full authority of the Supreme Court. A BRIEF NOTE ("RIGHT TO FOOD: BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY") SUMMARISING THE CONCLUSIONS

OF THESE DISCUSSIONS IS AVAILABLE ON THE SITE, FOR FURTHER DISSEMINATION.

The meeting was attended by about fifty participants from 12 different states. It was also an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions about the future of the Right to Food Campaign. Drought emerged as the most immediate concern. Early reports from different states indicate that

the drought may have devastating effects on people's livelihoods. Meanwhile, state governments are showing great reluctance to launch adequate relief measures, allegedly because of financial constraints.The central government, for its part, continues to hang on to its huge reserves of food.

The group felt that the immediate priority of the campaign for the moment should be the RIGHT TO WORK, expressed in the specific demand "work for all at minimum wages". The priority reflects the fact that employment is the best way to protect food entitlements. It also reflects the concern that in the last drought, the State governments introduced draconian 'labour ceilings' and often paid wages that were

far below the minimum wages.

Aside from the right to work, the group decided to take up a number of other issues. These include: (a) the non-implementation (or inept implementation) of school-meal programmes; (b) the collapse of the public distribution system; (c) the massive waste of foodgrain in FCI

godowns (and also its misuse, e.g. through subsidised exports); (d) the absence of social support for destitute households; (e) the lack of transparency and accountability in all food-related programmes; (f)the gross mismanagement of water resources throughout the country. 

A joint "appeal" based on the outcome of the meeting has been prepared and will be circulated shortly. This appeal also includes a proposal for a national day of action under the slogan 'Godam Kholo, Kaam do'.More on this in due course.

3. WORK ON THE MONITORING SYSTEM STARTS

The monitoring system has started its work, primarily in collaboration with Dr. N.C. Saxena. Letters have been sent by the Commissioners to the state governments asking them to appoint nodal officers who will be the focal point of communication with the Commissioners. Many states have responded to this. Further letters regarding violations

of the Supreme Court's orders have also been sent, e.g. demanding explanation for the non-implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in various states. The Commissioners may soon contemplate personal visits to the concerned states. For details of communications between the Commissioners and your state government, please write to

right2food@yahoo.co.in.

To track the plans of state governments on drought relief, the Commissioner has asked the states to place either the "advisor", or some representative of the advisor, in the drought monitoring committee of each state. (Clarification: we are in the process of identifying an "advisor" for the Commissioners in each state. See the summary note below.) We are also hoping that the Commissioners will be represented in the drought monitoring committee at the district level.

SGRY is currently the umbrella programme of the government regarding employment creation. Work is on to collect the details of works that are being planned at the district level, the allocations, etc. This could form a vital tool for monitoring and advocacy for the groups. Once they are ready, they would be available for dissemination on demand. Efforts would also be made to put them on the net.

4. ORISSA: SURVEY OF MID-DAY MEALS AND ICDS

Members of the Right to Food Campaign in Orissa have conducted an extensive survey of the mid-day meal and ICDS programmes in that state. The survey report is being finalised. The initial findings suggest that there are major diversions of foodgrains and possibly money in both programmes. Erratic delivery of foodgrains is another

common problem. Rarely do ICDS centres cater to pregnant and lactating women, or to adolescent girls. The survey documents the dismal functioning of two crucial nutrition schemes in a state with a very poor record of malnutrition.

5. KARNATAKA: STATUS OF MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME

In Karnataka, members of the Right to Food Campaign have been working on the mid-day meal scheme that has begun in 7 of the poorest districts in the State. "Inspection teams" have been formed in various districts to monitor the functioning of the scheme. In the initial round of "inspection", the teams went to schools in 5 out of 7

districts that had started the mid-day meal programme. Karnataka has provided between Rs 30,000 and 50,000 per school (depending on the size) for building kitchens and storerooms. A one-time provision of Rs 5,000 is made for utensils and Rs 6,000 for water storage. In each school, two to five persons are appointed for cooking and serving the meal. One rupee per child per day is provided for vegetables, oils and other ingredients.

In many schools, the survey team found problems regarding the quality of grain. The cooking staff also absconded on certain occasions. In some villages with more than one school, the meal is served in a single "meal centre". In some cases, this has resulted in children having to walk long distances for the mid-day meal. A number of other

relatively minor problems have all been documented in the report.

The biggest issue in Karnataka is that the mid-day meal is presently confined to 7 out of over 25 districts. A petition is being planned by the members of the "caucus for elementary education, Bangalore".

6. WEST BENGAL: OFFICIAL HARASSMENT IN PURULIYA

On 16 August, members of the "right to food and work campaign" in West Bengal met the District Magistrate, Puruliya, to enquire about the status of SGRY in the district. The DM told the group that this was none of their business. When one of the members protested, they were

physically removed from the room. Later in the day, the police rounded up the team and they were kept in the police station between 9 pm and 11 pm.

This is not the first incident of its kind in West Bengal. Earlier this year Kunal, an activist based in the state, was arrested on a fake charge of "parading a SC woman naked", even though he was not even present in the village when the incident allegedly occurred. This incident caused a major stir. 

In other states, too, there have been occasional instances of repression when members of the Right to Food Campaign exposed various irregularities involved in food-related programmes. The campaign may need to develop better protection against official harassment. 

7. UTTAR PRADESH: CHILDREN AGITATE FOR MID-DAY MEALS

In Uttar Pradesh, the mid-day meal campaign is gathering momentum. Feeble noises are beginning to be heard from the state government, suggesting that a mid-day meal programme may soon be introduced on a pilot basis. According to the Department of Education, a full-fledged school-meal programme would cost Rs 680 crores per year, and is not

affordable without central assistance (a familiar argument). The Chief Minister recently declined a request to discuss the issue. On 10 September, parents and children from different parts of the state will be going to Lucknow in another attempt to meet her. Meanwhile, a day

of agitation took place in Shankargarh (a deprived block of Allahabad district) on 27 August, when children in local schools held a dharna and submitted petitions to the Block Education Officer demanding the immediate introduction of cooked mid-day meals in all primary schools.

Sr. Sheeba Jose has prepared a writ petition to the Allahabad High Court, asking for the immediate implementation of all recent Supreme Court orders on the right to food. The petition will be submitted shortly.

8. RAJASTHAN: "AKAL SANGHARSH SAMITI" REVIVED WITH A BANG

A major meeting of Akal Sangharsh Samiti, a network of about fifty organisations working on drought-related issues in different parts of Rajasthan, was held in Jaipur on 13-14 August. The network had gone to sleep after the rains broke out last year, but with the state reeling once again under a ferocious drought, the network is being revived and

revamped. 

First-hand reports of the drought situation in different parts of Rajasthan are very alarming. There are acute water shortages in most places: the state government expects that water will soon need to be supplied by tanker to 16,000 villages. There have been massive crop failures, and migrant labourers have nowhere to go as the neighbouring

states are also drought-affected. Daily wages in Jaipur have already started falling.

Reports were also heard of the hardships caused to the

drought-affected population by large-scale Army deployments in the western districts. Landmines are causing havoc along the entire western border. Large amounts of water are being appropriated by the Army in water-scarce areas. Army camps are also depriving local residents of access to valuable pastures.

On a more positive note, Rajasthan's new mid-day meal programme appears to be doing reasonably well. School attendance is reported to have shot up, particularly in drought-affected areas. One emerging problem is the reluctance of higher-caste parents to let their

children eat with dalit children, or eat food cooked by a dalit person. In village Kolu Pabuji (Jodhpur district), a Rajput parent is reported to have thrown sand in the mid-day meal, which had been cooked by a Meghwal woman.

A whole series of possible actions were discussed at the meeting. The participating organisations are preparing for local events during the next few weeks, followed by a major public gathering in Jaipur on 26 September.

UPDATE 1

Dear friends,

Plans are afoot to step up the Right to Food campaign, as widespread drought presents us with new challenges. From now on we will be sending you regular "updates" (say 2-3 times a month), with news from the campaign around the country. IF YOUR ORGANISATION HAS A NEWSLETTER, PLEASE CONSIDER REPRINTING PORTIONS OF THESE UPDATES IN THE NEWSLETTER, TO HELP SPREAD AWARENESS ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN.

If you are an active member of the campaign, please send us information from to time about your activities, for inclusion in future Updates. Contributions to the Right to Food Update may be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in

To facilitate reading, each Update will begin with a list of "headlines", as a guide to the content of the main text. Here are today's headlines:

1. The right to food campaign's foundation "statement".

2. Survey of Anna Antyodaya Yojana completed.

3. A proposal to end starvation.

4. Supreme Court hearing to resume soon.

5. Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court.

6. Setting up a monitoring process.

7. Meetings with Food Minister, Finance Minister, etc.

8. Progress of mid-day meal programmes.

9. Campaign website.

10. Writ petitions in High Courts.

11. Public hearing on right to food in Palamau.

12. Jharkhand: campaign stepped up at all levels.

13. Special issue of "Combat Law" on the right to food

1. THE RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN'S "FOUNDING STATEMENT"

The Right to Food Campaign is an informal, decentralised network of individuals and organisations committed to the right to food. It is based on voluntary cooperation between like-minded people. To ensure some coherence in this network, it was felt that a common "statement" is needed, spelling out what unites us. After much discussion, the following was adopted as the campaign's "founding statement":

THE "RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN" IS AN INFORMAL NETWORK OF ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS COMMITTED TO THE REALISATION OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD IN INDIA. WE CONSIDER THAT EVERYONE HAS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM HUNGER AND UNDERNUTRITION. REALISING THIS RIGHT REQUIRES NOT

ONLY EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS, BUT ALSO ENTITLEMENTS RELATING TO LIVELIHOOD SECURITY SUCH AS THE RIGHT TO WORK, LAND REFORM AND SOCIAL SECURITY. WE CONSIDER THAT THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR GUARANTEEING THESE ENTITLEMENTS RESTS WITH THE STATE. LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AS AN EXCUSE FOR ABDICATING THIS RESPONSIBILITY. IN THE PRESENT CONTEXT, WHERE PEOPLE'S BASIC NEEDS ARE NOT A POLITICAL PRIORITY, STATE INTERVENTION ITSELF DEPENDS ON EFFECTIVE POPULAR ORGANISATION. WE ARE COMMITTED TO FOSTERING THIS PROCESS THROUGH ALL DEMOCRATIC MEANS.

2. SURVEY OF ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA COMPLETED

A survey of Antyodaya Anna Yojana was conducted in June 2002 by a team of researchers based at the Centre for Development Economic and the Centre for Equity Studies. The survey covers 46 villages in five states: Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Preliminary results indicate that the scheme is doing quite

well, in contrast with most other food-based welfare programmes. Most of the households included in the Antyodaya programme are very poor, suggesting that the "selection" procedure is working reasonably well. Further, the sample households obtained about 70 per cent of their official entitlements (currently 35 kgs of grain per month) since the programme was introduced. This compares favourably with the public distribution system and school-meal programmes in the same areas. Further, corruption in the Antyodaya programme appears to be relatively low. The programme is particularly effective in Andhra Pradesh, and very defective in Jharkhand. A detailed report is in progress.

3. A PROPOSAL TO END STARVATION

Based on the findings of the above-mentioned survey, a proposal for a large-scale, long-term programme of food-based social security for destitute households has been prepared. This proposal has been filed in the Supreme Court as an interim application. We encourage you to take up this proposal for discussion in your own organisation. Any comments or suggestions should be sent to right2food@yahoo.co.in

4. SUPREME COURT HEARING TO RESUME ON 2ND SEPTEMBER

The Supreme Court hearing on the right to food (PUCL vs Union of India and other, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 196 of 2001) will resume on 2nd September, after a long gap (the last hearing was held on 8 May). We are hoping that the hearing will focus on the proposal to end food insecurity among destitute households (see item 3). After that, we hope to take up the issue of "employment guarantee".

5. COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED BY THE SUPREME COURT

In its order of 8 May 2002, the Supreme Court has appointed Dr. N.C. Saxena and Mr. S.R. Sankaran as "commissioners" for the purpose of monitoring the orders issued in the context of this hearing. The Commissioners are empowered to enquire about any violations of these orders and to demand redressal, with the full authority of the Supreme Court. They are also expected to report to the court from time to time. This is an important tool of action: any breach of the orders can be questioned by the Commissioners with the full authority of the Supreme Court. One qualification: in principle, complaints are to be sent to the Commissioners only after the "lower level" redressal mechanisms (e.g. complaints to the BDO, District Collector, etc.) have been exhausted. However, this clause can be flexibly interpreted.

6. SETTING UP A MONITORING PROCESS

Following on this, the process of setting up a broad- based "monitoring and redressal system", making full use of the powers of the commissioners, has been initiated. An "adviser" will be designated in each of the major states to liaise with the Commissioners and bring to their attention any breaches of the orders that may have been committed in the state. The advisers will themselves be helped by a team of members of the Right to Food Campaign. A meeting to discuss this entire process was held on 9-10 August at the Indian Social Institute, Delhi. We shall report on this meeting in the next Update.

7. MEETINGS WITH THE FOOD MINISTER AND FINANCE MINISTER

Three members of the right to food "support group" (Colin Gonsalvez, Harsh Mander and Jean Drèze) met the new Food Minister, Shri Sharad Yadav, in early July. The Minister conveyed his full support for the campaign, including the public interest litigation. He said that this campaign would strengthen his own bargaining power within the government. The proposal to "end starvation" was presented to him and he promised to follow this up. A request has also been made for a meeting with the Finance Minister. Indeed, the hidden hand of the Finance Ministry looms large over all these issues. In his first public statement as new Finance Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh said that his priority would be to ensure that every family is protected from hunger. Media reports also suggest that he is planning to introduce a "new Antyodaya Anna Yojana". This is a good opportunity to get the Finance Ministry on board, in so far as this can be done.

8. PROGRESS OF SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMMES

State governments have begun implementing the school meal (or "mid-day meal") programme, in response to the Supreme Court's interim order of 28 November, 2001. Some state governments, such as those of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, have still not shown any sign of introducing cooked mid-day meals in primary schools. But many other states have made steps in that direction. Rajasthan stands out for having introduced cooked mid-day meals as per Supreme Court orders within the stipulated deadline (1 March, 2002), partly due to sustained pressure from the Right to Food campaign in that state. There is still plenty to do on this front, not only in ensuring that the "laggard" states implement the order, but also in ensuring that the mid-day meal scheme does not become token or even counter- productive programme. A helper is needed to cook the food, since teachers (or pupils for that matter) cannot and should not be expected to do it. Safeguards are needed to ensure the quality of the food and its hygienic preparation. Adequate provisions are also required for utensils, fuel, transport, and so on. Most state governments are trying to get away with the minimum. Maharashtra, for instance, is apparently expecting mid-day meals to be financed through local "contributions" from parents, with the state just providing uncooked grain as before (see item 14 below). These attempts to derail or dilute the mid-day meal programme must be resisted.

10. WRIT PETITIONS IN HIGH COURTS

A petition has been submitted in the Ranchi High Court, demanding the immediate implementation of Supreme Court orders on the right to food, especially the interim order of 28 November, 2001. The petition has been submitted by PUCL (Ranchi) and Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

A similar petition is being prepared for submission to the Allahabad High Court, with special focus on mid-day meals (which are nowhere to be seen in Uttar Pradesh).

11. PUBLIC HEARING ON RIGHT TO FOOD IN PALAMAU

A lively "public hearing" on hunger and the right to food took place on 9 July in Manatu (Palamau district, Jharkhand). This public hearing, held in the thick of one of India's most deprived and troubled areas, took place in response to the critical situation that had developed there (three starvation deaths were recently reported in village Kusumatand, Manatu panchayat). The hearing was convened by members of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and the Right to Food Campaign. It was preceded by a detailed survey of 36 villages of Manatu, which brought to light the disastrous state of public services and welfare programmes in the area. The hearing was attended by thousand of hunger-affected people from the surrounding villages, and paved the way for further action in the area. For a first-hand account of this public hearing, see the current issue of Frontline (also available at www.flonnet.com).

12. JHARKHAND: CAMPAIGN STEPPED UP

Following on the public hearing in Manatu, efforts are being made to step up the Right to Food Campaign in Jharkhand. A petition has been submitted in the Ranchi High Court (see item 10 above). On 11 July, another day of agitation on mid-day meals took place in Ranchi. Ignoring Section 144, hundreds of children "invaded" the Chief Minister's residence and handed him a petition for mid-day meals. The CM was sympathetic and promised to look into the matter. On 15 July, a meeting was held with opposition MLAs, who decided to send a team to Manatu shortly. Another fact-finding team, consisting of eminent scholars from Ranchi University and others, went to Manatu later in the month.

13. SPECIAL ISSUE OF "COMBAT LAW" ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

The third issue (August-September) of Combat Law, a new human rights magazine, focuses on the right to food. It includes details of recent Supreme Court orders, and two accounts of the Right to Food campaign. This will be of particular interest to those who are not familiar with the campaign.