Following the grain trail

Following the grain trail

Context

Many States have initiated ‘reforms’ of the public distribution system that are hurting millions of people

India’s public distribution system (PDS) is in danger of being derailed in several States across the country.

Biometric mix-ups: Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a prime example of this problem

Specific Reforms were undertaken

By mid-2016, the PDS in Jharkhand had greatly improved, partly due to a series of reforms inspired by Chhattisgarh’s experience and intensified under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)

But Aadhaar made mandatory

Instead of completing these reforms, for instance by removing private dealers, the Jharkhand government made Aadhaar-based biometric authentication compulsory for PDS users

So the Consequences:

• Large numbers of people, especially among vulnerable groups such as widows and the elderly, found themselves excluded from the PDS
• Those who were still able to buy their food rations faced considerable inconvenience due to connectivity and biometric failures
• Worse, there was a revival of corruption, as PDS rice meant for those who failed the biometric test was siphoned off with abandon.

Mass cancellation of Ration cards

• The damage was made worse in mid-2017, when the Jharkhand government mass-cancelled ration cards not linked with Aadhaar
• Many of the cancelled ration cards actually belonged to families that had been unable to link their card with Aadhaar for no fault of their own.
• The family of SantoshiKumari, an 11-year old Dalit girl who died of hunger on September 28, was among them.

State Government criticized

The mass-cancellation of Aadhaar-less ration cards, without verification and without even informing the victims, was both inhuman and illegal

But does it again

But far from learning from this mistake, or doing anything to repair it, the Jharkhand government launched a further attack on people’s food entitlements

• The monthly PDS rations of 5 kg per person were restricted to those whose individual names had been linked with Aadhaar in the ration-cards database
• This restriction, incidentally, is a flagrant violation of the instructions issued by the Food Ministry in Delhi on October 24, in response to the uproar that followed SantoshiKumari’s death.

But the worst still to come

The transition to so-called “direct benefit transfer”.

What is it?

• Under the DBT system, people have to collect their food subsidy in cash from the bank before using it to buy rice from the ration shop at ₹32 per kg
• Until now, they were able to buy rice from the ration shop at ₹1 per kg

Blind government

• The DBT system was initiated in Nagri Block of Ranchi district last October, on an experimental basis
• In Nagri, it does not take long to discover that the new system is a disaster, and that most people are angry with it

Problems with DBT

• Time wasted

The main problem with DBT is that people waste enormous time shuttling between the banks, pragyakendras (common service centres) and ration shops to get hold of their money and then use it to buy rice at the ration shop

• Long Queues

At every step, there are long queues, and for many people the bank or pragyakendra is also far away

• Mobility problems

For people with mobility problems, like the elderly or disabled, this entire process is a nightmare.

• Food subsidy difficult to distinguish from other credits

This is all the more difficult as the food subsidy is not always easy to distinguish from other bank credits.

• Multiple bank accounts

Many families have several bank accounts, but apparently, they were not told where to look for their subsidy As a result, many people had to run from bank to bank to find out where their subsidy had been deposited

A 3 step process

For many of them, this is a three-step process

• First, they go to the bank to find out whether the subsidy has been credited and update their passbook
• Second, they go to the pragyakendra to withdraw the cash, as the bank often insists on their doing so from these centres
• Third, they take the cash to the ration shop to buy rice at ₹32 per kg

People don’t’ have cash

• If people had cash reserves, the system might work better: PDS purchases would not be contingent on bank transactions.
• So many people in rural Jharkhand, even in a relatively developed block like Nagri, have so little cash. And even those who have some cash, it seems, prefer to use the DBT subsidy to buy rice from the ration shop, partly because they are not clear about the rules of the game.

Beyond Jharkhand

• Even as the people of Nagri fume and protest against the DBT experiment, the State government is trying its best to project it as a success and justify its extension to the whole State
• If this happens, millions of people will face renewed food insecurity.

Other States

Most of them are under tremendous pressure from the Central government to impose Aadhaar-based biometric authentication or move towards DBT

Bihar

In Bihar, DBT failed in the pilot block (Kasba in Purnia district), but the failure went largely unreported

Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, the biometric authentication has caused enormous damage, evident even in the government’s own transactions data.

Chhattisgarh

Even Chhattisgarh, known for its model PDS, is under pressure to follow the diktats of the Central government and adopt Aadhaar-based technology

Growing Centralisation and technocracy

In all these States, we know senior officers in the Food Department who understand the inappropriateness of this technology and privately oppose it. Yet, they have no choice but to follow the Central government’s instructions. This is symptomatic of a larger malady in India’s social sector: growing centralisation and technocracy.

Lack of Concern

The most disturbing aspect of this trend is a lack of concern for the hardships that people face

Examples

• Aadhaar-less ration cards are cancelled without notice
• Pensions are discontinued without the victims being told what the problem is
• Job cards are cancelled just to meet the “100% seeding” targets
• Elderly persons with rough fingerprints are deprived of food rations without compensation. Cash payments are automatically redirected to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts that people sometimes know nothing about

The Supreme Aadhaar must prevail

In effect, they are treated as guinea pigs for undependable technologies, without any effective arrangements for grievance redressal or even information sharing. Let people perish if need be, Aadhaar must prevail.