Press
Release
Jan Sansad Critical of
Cash Transfer Scheme
Delhi, 28 November,
2012: On the third day of the Jan
Sansad, which has been focusing on the issues of basic entitlements and
services such as livelihood, education, ration, health and water privatization
and the government’s move to implement a cash transfer scheme, community
members demanded that immediate attention be given to the concerns of unorganized workers and the poor.
“Even after the passing of
the Right to Education Act, education is not an entitlement for us,” asserted
Sukhbai, Lalitpur, Bundhelkhand Taking this forward, Kiran Bhatty, former
Commissioner, NCPCR, pointed out that for the first time a landmark legislation
like the Right to Education was passed without a finance note accompanying it.
She went on to add that it was not surprising that they (the government) are
not “putting their money where their mouth is.”
In his address, Dr. Praveen
Jha emphasized the fact that the Constitutional guarantee of Right to Education
can become a reality only if it is adequately resourced. “The government’s
failure to fulfil the commitment of allocating 6% of GDP to education, which
was recommended by the Kothari Commission in 1966, is irrefutable proof of the
utter lack of political will on the part of successive governments to take this
basic right to communities most in need of it.”
Speaking on behalf of poor
women, Rambhai, from Chambal, in Madhya Pradesh, shared her heartrending
experience of being forced to live from hand to mouth. “I am neither able to
till my small patch of land as local goons have taken possession of it nor am I
given a job card under MNREGA. How does the government expect me to feed and
raise my children?” she asked.
From all accounts the
situation of urban poor women was no better. Waste pickers from Pune lamented
the privatisation of the landfill which has completely deprived them of all
means of livelihood. “Till two years ago I used to go to the landfill everyday
to sift the waste and sell it to make a living but today I am not allowed to
enter the vicinity of the landfill and I am driven away mercilessly”, said
Gangu Bai Bansode, from Pune, to the large crowd of people present at Jantar
Mantar, in New Delhi.
Poornima Chikarmane, Kagad
Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat, Pune, agreed that poor women were most
affected by the privatization of waste management and the use of contract
labour. She then went on to explain that, “contractors were taking away the
only means of livelihood for thousands of rag-pickers of Pune. What is worse is
that all the big companies contracted to take care of waste management are not
able to deliver, much to the dismay of citizens in big metros like
Bengaluru.”
A delegation from the Jan
Sansad met Shri V. Narayanasamy
Minister, Department of Personnel and Training, to highlight their concerns.
The Minister has assured them that he will pay due attention to their issues. One of their
main concerns is the grievance redress legislations like the Grievance Redress
bill, Lokpal bill and Whistle Blower Protection bill.
With regard to the cash
transfer scheme two professors of Economics, Prof. Ravi Srivastava and Prof.
Pravin Jha, have opined that the scheme will not work in countries that have large
poor and marginal populations that are dependent on public provisioning for
basic entitlements such as healthcare, food and education.
Prof. Ravi Srivastava said,
“It is not a bad idea to give Aadhar cards but before they start to implement
this scheme they must realise that there are millions of unorganized migrant
workers who have neither basic entitlements nor any guarantees of citizenship.” Taking this point forward Prof. Pravin Jha
said, “While the Aadhar card is location specific migrant workers are
multi-locational. The cash transfer will neither benefit the poor nor the
government. It will only enrich the
private sector. As an economist I can safely
say it is also bad economics.”
Dr. Ritika Khera, Economist,
also questioned the efficacy of the cash transfer system. She opined that the government was blindly
imitating countries like Brazil “without realising that they have fewer poor
people, are far more urbanized and have in place a robust banking system”.
The cash transfer scheme was
also condemned by CPI (M) MP Brinda Karat and BJP MP Prakash Javadekar. Brinda Karat, while expressing strong
opposition to the Aadhar card, said that they cannot make Aadhar cards
conditionality for MNREGA because it can result in a distorted database. “Fingerprinting
is not foolproof and it can change with age and manual work”, she added.
Prakash Javadekar expressed his support to the people at the Jan Sansad and said
that he had submitted a petition in Parliament on pension.
Maharashra MPs Shri Bhuasaheb
and Shri Wakchaure, from the Shiv Sena were present at the Jan Sansad as also
Shri. Hussain Dalwai, from the Congress and Shri Raju Shetty, from Swabhimani
Shetkari Sanghatana. They have all extended their support to the Jan Sansad.
Others present included Ms.
Medha Patkar, Shri Mathew Cherian, Help Age and Ms. Annie Raja, NFIW.
-----------------
For more details please contact:
Farah: 9560511667 and Poornima 09422317928
