Congress Comeback and Expectations

The election news in India is that the Congress will come back to power with some outside support. It looks like that this will also be a stable government.

With the monsoon going to set in early, the party has to give greater priority to Agriculture from the beginning. This is where more than half of the people and nearly three-fourths of rural people still depend upon there livelihood. If this is going to be a second term for Dr Manmohan Singh and he wants Mr Rahul Gandhi to be in the cabinet and I think that the latter should take up agriculture. In this sector, the opposition also needs to be involved in a major way. If planned well this has the capacity to address the larger financial crisis. The blueprint of the District Agricultural Plan has a lot of potential but then its implementation at the ground level is tardy.

Two positive and people friendly developments of the last government were the Right to Information (RTI) and the Nationation Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). This has definited translated into votes. These have to be carried forward with more vigour, make NREGA more inclusive (as already indicated by the Right to Food group) and also bring in a comprehensive Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) so that this self-employment programme complements the NREGAs wage employment.

Before I forget, they should initiate immediate steps to free Dr. Binayak Sen. He has been in jail for more than two years now. Then only, Jai Ho!

Brazilian lessons for India

In the evening of 18th March 2009 Professor Marcelo Medeiros, Senior Policy Specialist, International Poverty Center, Brazil, had a discussion with some of our colleagues at IGIDR. He has been around for about ten days and participated in Holi celebrations (taking those beautiful photographs) and interacting with many of us.

One of his first observations on India was that we are making the same mistakes that Brazil did during their initial years of liberalization based on Fund-Bank conditionality. There is growth, but it is concentrated and there is a strong case for distribution.

On the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) being operational he was of the view that it should be extended to urban areas, include all adult members of the household and extended to 200 days in a year. In fact, these seem to match with the demand to all political parties being put forth by the Right to Food Campaign.

He also opined that these wage-employment programmes should not be like digging and filling up holes. They should add value. The discussion also veered to how Right to Information (RTI) along with NREGA has helped in empowering the rural poor. Along with this wage-employment programme, I would like to add that there is the need for a comprehensive self-employment programme (as has been suggested by the Report of the Committee on Credit Related Issues under SGSY, Chairman R Radhakrishna, submitted to the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India) and a strong case for addressing the larger agrarian crisis.

He did mention that a large proportion of individuals/households in Brazil have an account in bank/post office with an id card. This helps in the direct transfer of welfare funds in a timely manner. This is similar to the Smart card experiment under NREGA. But, then we should have a common card for all purposes. Some political parties have put this in their agendas for the forthcoming elections in 2009.

On corruption and crimes he thought that India was much better. He referred to incidents of any entire Any Time Money (ATM) machine being taken away or waylaying of Trucks that carry goods (particularly medicines, as it is very costly). As a response to this the service providers have fitted these with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) so that they could be traced through satellites. In many cities of India, GPS are now being used by providers of some taxi services like MERU and MEGA CABS among others. Whether this has dented the incomes of the usual taxi drivers is to be seen.

Chalo Brazil!

Jan Manch 21 March 2009

I am posting the message from Secretariat - Right to Food Campaign

Jan Manch "Symposium" on Employment Guarantee and the Right To Information
(New Delhi 21st march, 2009)
Basics demands from Political Parties attached.


Dear Friends,

Greetings!

A Jan Manch on Employment Guarantee and the Right to Information will be held in New Delhi on 21 March 2009, in anticipation of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. At this Jan Manch, representatives of all political parties will be invited to present their party's position on these two crucial issues, and to respond to public demands or queries.

This event is being convened under the joint banner of Peoples Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) and the National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI). A draft charter of basic demands on employment guarantee, and Right to Information is pasted below and attached too for your perusal. Please send any comments you may have to janmanch09@gmail.com.

This charter of demands will be sent to political parties, and circulated widely, in advance of the Jan Manch.

The Jan Manch will be held on the lawns of Constitution Club (Rafi Marg) in New Delhi, from 10 am to 4 pm. About 5,000 participants are expected to attend from all over the country.

You are cordially invited to participate. If you are coming in a group, please inform the organizers in advance by sending a line tojanmanch09@gmail.com.

All participants are expected to make their own arrangements for travel. We shall help you finding lodging facilities if you inform us in advance (by 18th march, 2009). Subsidized food shall be arranged.


In solidarity,

Jan Manch 09

(Annie Raja, Dithi Bhattacharya, Jean Drze, Nikhil Dey, Radhika Menon, Ramit Basu)


Employment Guarantee: Demands from Political Parties*
The main demands on Employment Guarantee that were agreed upon for inclusion in the charter were as follows:

1. Expansion of the scope of the Employment Guarantee Act (EGA), including:
(a) Individual entitlements: Expansion of the work guarantee from 100 days per household per year to at least 100 days per adult per year.
(b) Enactment of an Urban Employment Guarantee Act.

2. Expansion of the list of permissible works to include rural public services as well as construction and maintenance of rural infrastructure (within the mandatory 60:40 ratio).

3. Reverse the recent freeze on NREGA wages by the Central Government and ensure linking of minimum wages to the Consumer Price Index.

4. Protection of all organizers and activists involved in the implementation of NREGA, including social audits, and investigation of recent incidents of violence against them.

5. Putting in place effective grievance redressal mechanisms.

6. Strengthening of the operational framework for NREGA, including:
Conversion of the Operational Guidelines into mandatory Rules.
Establishment of PRIs where none exist (e.g. Jharkhand).

7. Increase in financial outlays to 2% of GDP, and raising of the allocation for administrative expenses from 4% to 6% of NREGA expenditure. This would help in ensuring guaranteed minimum standards for all mandatory worksite facilities (including crche and drinking water) and minimum transparency measures.

8. Reservation of 50% of all posts in the NREGA machinery (POs, GRSs etc.) for women. Separate Job Cards for widows, separated women and other single women irrespective of their living arrangements.

* Prepared for a Jan Manch to be held in New Delhi on 21 March 2009, in anticipation of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This Jan Manch is being convened under the joint banner of Peoples Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) and the National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI). The demands are based on a preparatory meeting held on 26 February 2009, and follow-up consultations.


Right To Information
The main demands on Right to Information that were agreed upon for inclusion in the charter were as follows:

1. The RTI law carries a strong mandate of the people and should not be amended in any way. Most measures to strengthen it can be undertaken through rules and administrative measures to strengthen implementation.

2. Set up a National Council for the Right to Information (along the lines of the NREGA council), to monitor the implementation of the RTI Act.

3. Set up statutory public grievance commissions across the country, which have powers to redress grievances and to punish errant officials.

4. Make the selection of information commissioners transparent and participatory.

5. Formulate model rules that can be adopted by all states.

6. Ensure Mandatory disclosure under section 4 (suo moto) disclosures, and strengthen this process, including disclosures of all financial transactions.

7. Strengthen information commissions and make them independent by directly voting their budgets and giving them financial and administrative autonomy.

8. Set up Feed Back mechanism regarding applications filed for information from Panchayat up to state to monitor implementation and address weaknesses.

9. Budget for Training of Government Personnel in RTI implementation in the Centre and the State.

10. Budget allocation and ensure spending for spreading awareness through radio and TV to facilitate peoples use of RTI to prevent Corruption and ensure accountability.

11. To ensure transparency of the corporate and private sector, in particular financial matters that affect the larger public interest.


Secretariat - Right to Food Campaign
C/o PHRN
5 A, Jungi House,
Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110049.
India
website: www.righttofoodindia.org