The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Rice mills flourish despite shortage of grain

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Tuesday, Apr 06, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Rice mills flourish despite shortage of grain

A family at work unsewing sugar sacks for a living in Bolangir district - Photo V.V. Krishnan.

BOLANGIR, ORISSA

In February, a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) got together under the banner of the Ekta Parishad, to take out a rally advocating support for the `No Land, No Vote' platform.

The `Bhumiadhikar rally,' that started from Kalahandi and ended at Bhubaneshwar, was aimed at creating awareness among the tribal people of western Orissa of their rights, particularly land rights. Attended by tribals from Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Bihar, the participants made it clear that they would not vote for any political party unless they were promised the ownership rights for their land. Even though the Centre had recently announced that it would give ownership rights to the tribal people, the decision has been partly stayed by the Supreme Court.

Unequal distribution and land alienation have been identified as two of the major causes of poverty in the region. Also, the absence of a proper marketing network forces the farmers to sell their produce at a pittance. Further, given the poor farm credit facilities, the State's peasants have to, by and large, depend on moneylenders for advances.

In many ways, Bolangir district is an anomaly: it normally registers rainfall in excess of the State average and its per capita food grains production is higher than the rest of the State. Yet, it also happens to be poverty-stricken.

According to a report published by the drought-mitigation cell of the Zila Swechchasevi Sangh, a local non-governmental organisation, 91.9 per cent of the rural families in Bolangir district live below the poverty line (BPL). Of this, 41.93 per cent are marginal farmers and 25.44 per cent agricultural labourers. Some 60 per cent of the marginal farmers own 30 per cent of the land while 6-7 per cent of the big farmers own the remaining operational landholdings.

Another study, conducted by Action Aid, an internationally funded NGO, suggests that land alienation has become more common in the recent past. Many households mortgage or sell their land to tide over a crisis. Generally, land is mortgaged in lieu of credit taken for marriages, medical treatment and repaying debts. At times, people also borrow money to buy liquor or for gambling, leading to mortgaging of land.

Mortgaging and selling of BPL cards have been observed in many villages. This is mainly due to the distressed conditions of the farmers and their inability to purchase grain from the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops. When the disbursements are irregular and the quota for 2-3 months is disbursed together, the poor families are unable to come up with the money to purchase their quotas. Consequently, they prefer to sell the cards for a small consideration. It has also been noticed that for depositing the BPL card with the dealer, a household gets 1.5 kg of rice free. And this is happening despite the Centre's claim that it has a record 212.2 million tonnes of food grains in its granaries.

"There is no reason why the 20-odd rice mills in Bolangir should survive if there is an acute drought and shortage of food grains,'' says Sharanya of Action Aid. How does one explain this? Enquiries here reveal that rice or paddy supplied under the PDS schemes like Antodaya Anna Scheme at Rs. 4.75 per kg and at Rs. 2 for BPL card holders is sold to the rice mills at Rs. 9 per kg, which in turn sell the rice to the Government or in the open market at Rs 15.

A drought has cascading effects: it results in the loss of crop, which in turn results in scarcity of food, work and money. A shortage of money leads to sale of assets, land and animals and results in migration, debt, and inability to buy even the basic necessities of life. The lack of employment arising from crop loss results in migration, competition for the few jobs available, sub-normal wages and delayed payment of wages.

Corruption is another reason for the lack of social security. The Old Age Pension Scheme that entitles senior citizens to Rs. 100 per month is disbursed only once in three months with the officials keeping the rest of the money. Even the identification of who is eligible for a pension is seeped in corruption. A social audit conducted in Jharnipalli Panchayat of Bolangir district in 2001suggested that most of the beneficiaries of the scheme were below 35 years and related to the sarpanch.

Aarti Dhar

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