Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
India
Income transfer
to poor
10%
Excess cost
28%
Income transfer
to non-poor
19%
Illegal
diversion cost
43%
Figure  12.1 Decomposition of Food Subsidy Expenditures:  India
Source:  Jha and Ramaswami (2012)
The Rights Approach to Food Security
Agitated by the poor performance of the public distribution system and the lack of
political interest, some civil society organizations have pushed to embed food secu-
rity in the legal framework and secure some degree of state commitment. In 2001,
the People's Union of Civil Liberties filed a public interest petition in the Supreme
Court of India demanding judicial oversight of the state's food intervention. They
argued that the right to food derives from the right to life that is guaranteed by the
Constitution.
The case is still ongoing. However, the court has been sympathetic to the petition and
has passed a wide range of “interim” orders. It has appointed commissioners to moni-
tor the compliance of these orders, most of which relate to legal enforcement of existing
government programs. Some court orders have also expanded the scope of government
programs. A prominent instance of it is when the court made it mandatory for all gov-
ernment primary schools to have a school feeding program.
A network of individuals and organizations has organized around the public interest
litigation to campaign for a right to food. The campaign has pressed for a range of inter-
ventions beyond just food programs such as public works programs, public services of
nutrition, health and education to young children, and securing equitable land and for-
est rights. The willingness of the judiciary to adjudicate on these issues has provided
sustenance to this movement.
The rights approach received political validation with the promise of a “right to food”
by the United Party Alliance that returned to power in India's general elections of 2009.
This campaign promise has now seen the approval of a National Food Security Bill by
 
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