To
Shri Sharad Pawar
Hon’ble Union Minister
Agriculture; Food & Public Distribution
Government of India
Krishi Bhawan
New Delhi
Hon’ble Sir,
Barak Gana Parishad (BGP) on behalf of 4.5 million people of Barak
Valley (proposed Barakland state to be carved out of Assam) comprising
Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts would like to draw your
attention to the new policy which is likely to be framed by the Govt of
India in respect of the Public Distribution System. In this regard we
are submitting a few suggestions for your kind perusal and taking the
same with the appropriate authorities in respect of Barak Valley.
The three Barak Valley Districts, though not a totally non-producing
area in respect of food grains, yet it is much less than sufficient as
the topography and soil do not support the same. Besides the low
yielding paddy, the only agricultural product here is tea cultivation
and majority of tea gardens are sick.
The areas witness a
peculiar climatic condition with rainfall for about 6 months and winter
for about 2 months making general living conditions very difficult.
Paddy is destroyed every year due to perennial floods, an annual saga
which could have been contained with the erection of the Tipaimukh
(Barak) Dam which New Delhi had shelved to get Anup Chetia and his mates
repatriated from Bangladesh. This is like leaving your wife to keep
your illegitimate girl friend happy!
The economy of the region
is weak as limited business opportunities exist here. The entire economy
is based on tea. Employment opportunities are a zero as the state
government does not fill positions which fall vacant in the valley with
locals, but induct non-Barak people from Brahmaputra Valley and transfer
them here. The Assam Secretariat did not employ a single person from
Barak Valley during the last 25 years. MLA’s and MP’s are mostly agents
of Dispur as election tickets are distributed only amongst stooges..At
the time of distribution of party tickets there is virtually a rat race
as to who is the top stooge. As such the majority of the population is
self-employed in small business or private jobs. The average salaries
being paid in is very low and ranges from Rs 1500-Rs 3000 per month.
Considering the above we feel that any policy by the Government of
India to benefit the valley people has to be taken with a different view
as there is a vast difference in the overall conditions of Barak Valley
and the rest of the state. As regards a food policy we feel that while
formulating a policy for Barak areas the following suggestions should be
considered,
Bark Valley consumers are totally dependent on the
PDS for their food requirements. Further, as the economic condition of
the consumers being poor, the dependence on the PDS becomes total, as
the consumers cannot afford to buy from the open market. As such the
total quantity required by a person for his monthly consumption should
be supplied through the PDS. The present quantity per family per month
is not sufficient and this should be trebled. The ideal supply would be
50 kgs of rice 25 kgs of Wholemeal Atta and 5kgs of wheat. We would
request introduction of supply of Enriched Wholemeal Atta through the
PDS. The scheme we learn was a pilot project of the country and has been
extended to other states (not Barak Valley) in view of its success and
benefits of enrichment with micro-nutrients.
There should be no
categorization of the consumers in the form of BPL and APL as 90% of
the population fall under a similar category of monthly income ranging
from Rs500-3000 per month. Although a sizeable population might not meet
the BPL criteria as formulated by the Government, but they are in no
way affluent and deserve the benefits as being given to the BPL
consumers. In fact the BPL criteria framed by the Government has also
been done taking political considerations. Municipal ward commissioners,
Panchayats, MLA’s and MP’s have benami BPL/AAY ration cards. As such
considering the overall conditions prevailing here the entire consumers
should be categorized under a single category and foodstuffs should be
made available at the BPL rates as specifically fixed by the Government
for people of Barak Valley.
The passage of the Food Security
Bill in Parliament paves the way to give nation's two-third population
the right to 5 kg of food grain every month at highly subsidised rates
of Rs 1-3 a kg which may be slightly modified in consultation with the
state government for Barak Valley people. Let there be non-political
observers from other states to monitor the screening process of
applications which are bound to discriminate ideological or political
adversaries. We do not trust the Assam government or its agents.
Supply of sugar should also be increased as the present supply by the
state government is totally erratic. Further the scale of supply of
sugar should be more than doubled from the existing quota per person
(not per card) per month.
We are hopeful that the problems
being faced by our people will be suitably taken up from your end with
the appropriate authorities to benefit the Barak Valley people.
Thanking you
Yours sincerely
Rati Ranjan Roy
President
Barak Gana Parishad
Dated at Silchar, 25th August, 2013
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