On Gandhi Jayanti, hundreds of people came together in Udaipur from the tribal districts of Banswara, Dungarpur, Sirohi and Pali, demanding a universal public distribution system.
The slogans were clear: “APL-BPL khatam karo, sabko anaaj, dal, tel do (abolish APL-BPL. Give wheat, pulses and oil to all).”
The yatras by social organisations began from Kushalgarh in Banswara, Sirohi and Abur Road Block in Sirohi district, Bali in Pali district and Kotra and Khedwada in Udaipur district. All the yatras converged in Udaipur on Tuesday to share their vision of a ‘bhukh evam kuposhan mukta Rajasthan (a hunger- and malnutrition-free Rajasthan)’.
Some yatras were also flagged off on Tuesday from Barmer and Jaisalmer, and another from Bikaner and Hanumangarh will join the main congregation in Beawar and Jaipur respectively. The yatras will end on October 9 in Baran, another hunger pocket in Rajasthan.
Development economist Jean Dreze said while the percentage of procurement by the Food Corporation of India has been rising year after year, distribution has been mostly stagnant (relatively coming down). He said distribution has been done on the basis of the BPL list of 2002 and population records of 2000.
The population figures have not been revised in the 2011 census, he said.
He took on the Rajasthan chief minister and said it was shocking to see tribals in the state living in stark poverty and with hunger.
He said it was dishonest to divide people into APL and BPL categories in the panchayat. People still go to Gujarat to work for very low wages, he said.
He said the PDS must provide pulses and oil at extremely subsidised cost as these items were not on the food plate of people in the region.
He said the yatra in Rajasthan will impact policymakers not only in the state but in Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, where similar yatras were being organised.
They will apply pressure on state governments and build public opinion for a comprehensive food security Bill.
Advisor to Supreme Court Commissioners Ashok Khandelwal said the Rajasthan government has been violating apex court orders by providing only 25 kg ration to BPL families, when there were clear orders to provide 35 kg per card.
However, he said the government must not only make it 35 kg for all BPL families, but people in adivasi areas should be given food according to ICMR norms, which is 14 kg per adult (7 kg per child) — averaging 10 kg per unit, 1.5 kg dal (0.75 kg per child) and 900 gm (450 gm per child) cooking oil.