“I am still waiting”: Meghalaya’s Public Distribution System during COVID times
SHILLONG | AUG 24, 2020:
Kong Risamarlin (name changed to protect identity) residing in a village in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya is a young mother of three – struggling to make ends meet both now, in the time of the COVID 19 pandemic and otherwise.
Her husband, a daily wage labourer works in construction in another district and is an alcoholic who refuses to send any financial support for his family. When he does return, Risamarlin is subjected to physical, verbal and sexual abuse.
INTRODUCTION TO TDPS
I asked Risamarlin if she had heard of the new relief measures that the Government had put in place with the lockdown or if she is getting her rightful allotment food grains at subsidised prices specified under the Targetted Public Distribution System (TDPS). "I am still waiting", she said; as she told me that she had given her name to the village authorities twice to apply for a ration card. It was never followed up. She has never received a receipt for an application. She has no idea why and if it is even possible for her to benefit from the PDS at all. She has no guarantee and no security.
In 2013, the passing of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) marked a paradigm shift in the approach to food security. As a rights-based approach, the Act is supposed to cover up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population. The TPDS is an integral programme under the NFSA Act in India.
In Meghalaya, it is regulated under the Meghalaya Food Grains (Public Distribution System) Control Order, 2004 and the Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department is responsible for the implementation of the system.
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Today, with the current public crisis of the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus and the lockdowns that have been issued nationally and at the state level, the Public Distribution System (TPDS) stands to be one of the most critical government programmes. So far, the Central government seems to have responded favourably with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a relief package on 26th March 2020 that includes a doubling of the PDS ration entitlements as well as an extra ration to be given free of cost.
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES
Meghalaya continues to receive thousands of metric tonnes of rice allocated every month for different categories under the distribution system (as before in pre-COVID times). But there are implementation challenges.
At an all-India level, the PDS covers about 810 million people even though it should, in fact, cover at least a hundred million more. This is the first problem of the system.
In Meghalaya itself, there are still numerous marginalised sections not listed under the TPDS as well as remote villages not reached at all.
INEFFICIENCY AT THE GROUND LEVEL
The second problem and especially pertinent in the context of the state of Meghalaya, is the inefficiency at the ground level and in the handling of the PDS. Thus, even though the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has transported 38,000 metric tonnes of rice to Meghalaya as recently as 20th April 2020, we still hear stories like those of Risamarlin.
Government records on the distribution of ration both to Priority Household (PHH) and Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries under the TDPS stands at 88.45%. While this reflects substantial coverage, the question of those outside the purview of the system remains.
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As the fight to save lives in the wake of the pandemic continues, there is also a need to save human lives from the very real threat of hunger and lack. This is an existing threat that has risen its head more prominently than ever in the wake of the lockdown. With thousands struggling to cope with the economic consequences of the lockdown in Meghalaya, it has been the civil societies, religious institutions and individuals who have also taken up the mantle.
CIVIL SOCIETIES COME TO THE RESCUE
Rural 7Trep Aid for COVID 19 is one such group of individuals that has risen to the occasion and have worked tirelessly in rendering aid in rural Meghalaya; their aim to cover those that are not listed in the TPDS or those villages where the PDS is unable to reach.
Aiban Mawkhroh, the Administrator of the relief efforts said, "The first problem is the remoteness of some of the smaller villages. They are not even motorable and are only accessible on foot. Second, the problem of landless villagers and single mothers who do not even have ration cards or any other documentation… This is mostly due to the low literacy and lack of information problem on the ground."
Besides the landless, the group also identifies another set of vulnerable people without access to food in rural Meghalaya– those dependent on tourism and on small scale production of commercial crops like broom grass (Thysanolaena maxima) and loofah sponge (Luffa cylindrical). With the sudden stop to all tourism activities in rural Meghalaya and the stock of such commercial crops remaining unsold, the villagers, dependent on these for their livelihoods, have found themselves in dire need. The Public Distribution System is especially important for them.
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Rural 7Trep Aid generally works on the ground with the help of the Rangbah Snhong (local headman) of different villages. With their help and initiative, they are able to identify the needy families that require aid and supply it accordingly. On their own, however, the local Rangbah Shnong is often unable to ensure supply due to huge logistical problems. As an example, a village may be so remote that the nearest PDS ration shop maybe about two hours away on foot.
The same is echoed by John War (name changed to protect identity), a ration shop supplier. What may be noted here is that logistics remains one of the biggest problems in terms of ensuring supply under the public distribution system.
ELEMENT OF POLITICS
Interestingly, another source who spoke to us highlighted a different problem altogether– the element of politics and bias.
It is alleged that certain villages in the remote areas of the East Khasi Hills district that did not support the local MLA in his election were not given adequate ration supply while those villages that formed the support base of the said politician were.
Badarisha (name changed to protect identity) from the War Pynursla area also alleged bias in the way that the public distribution system works saying, "Some of them are given 2 kilos and some 20 kilos of rice… we don't know the correct allocations."
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What is important to note is that the Targetted Public Distribution System remains one of the important Government policy interventions both in terms of coverage as well as public expenditure. But there is more to be done. The system in its entirety requires reform.
In Meghalaya, coverage and efficient supply needs to be the focus of this reform. Since the passing of the NFSA, the PDS has been acting as a food security network that seeks to facilitate the right to food as a legal entitlement. In the wake of the pandemic, the system is tested and the public requires it to work efficiently and effectively now, more than ever.
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