http://www.dnaindia.com/Sharad Pawar puts foot down, says no cash transfer
DNA Research N Archives / Yogesh Pawar / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 7:34 IST
http://www.dnaindia.com/print710.php?cid=1781728
In what is bound to raise the hackles of the Congress, NCP chief and
union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has opposed the UPA government’s
plan to disburse cash to the poor based on Aadhar cards. He was
addressing a massive women’s rally organised by his party in Amravati on
Monday.
The scheme, which Sonia Gandhi has herself pushed in
public, has been touted by the Congress as a fix for leakages of
subsidies to families below the poverty line (BPL). There are several
critics of the scheme, but Pawar, whose party is a partner in the UPA
government, has voiced his opposition openly for the first time.
“We
will not be a party to the implementation of something so many poor in
this country don’t want,” he said, to resounding cheers from the
predominantly tribal and Dalit gathering. DNA had reported on Monday how
the Maharashtra government continues to use a 2002 list that does not
have over 50 lakh people who are below the poverty line, earning barely
enough to afford even one meal. This is despite the fact that gram
sabhas, civic councils and corporations have submitted fresh lists for
2012.
Many organisations working with the poor on the right to
food have criticised the direct cash transfers. “Based on old lists,
half the poor will be written off,” said Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha
Janandolan Samiti. He welcomed Pawar’s position.
Tiwari said
Sharad Pawar’s announcement opposing the direct cash transfer in PDS had
come like a bolt from the blue. “He is known for his stance against
farmers and the poor while favouring MNCs and market forces. So his
opposition is a surprise, as many private players are promoting the
direct cash transfer scheme,” Tiwari said. “Pawar’s stand will certainly
have larger implications for the UPA, as the Congress will not like to
be painted as the villain by the NCP in the run-up to 2014.”
The
samiti had written to Pawar about the proposed direct cash transfer
scheme and the adverse effect it would have on 10 million tribals and
the poor. It warned that if the scheme was implemented in Vidarbha it
would also lead people to indulge in massive deforestation to survive.
“Reducing kerosene quota will lead to large-scale felling of forests.
The scheme has not worked for 25,000 households in Kotkasim, a block in
Rajasthan’s Alwar district,” Tiwari said. “Our experience has been that
beneficiaries will not be able to access the accounts in which the
government transfers the money. There are instances where wages under
MGNREGA and pension to old widows does not reach them. So what’s the
guarantee that cash transferred to beneficiary accounts will be utilised
for the same purpose?
URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_sharad-pawar-puts-foot-down-says-no-cash-transfer_1781728-all
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