Right to Food Campaign gives a call for a dharna on August 7 for amendments in the Food Security Ordinance

NEW DELHI: The Right to Food Campaign gives a call for a dharna at JantarMantar on August 7 to press for amendments in the Food Security Ordinance.

According to the campaigners the present version of the food law as prescribed in the National Food Security Ordinance is extremely inadequate and makes a mockery of food security."It provides extremely limited food entitlements, is piece meal and is nowhere close to providing food security. It makes no provisions for production of food or for support of small and marginal farmers who are food producers, but very food insecure and poor. It even undermines some of the entitlements ensured by the Supreme Court of India in the Right to Food case. It has no provisions for community kitchens and feeding of the most hunger -prone or to deal with starvation deaths,"said a statement released by the Right to Food Campaign

The Right to Food Campaign is a national network of organisations and individuals and has played an instrumental role in the enactment of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 and expansion of the Antyodaya Anna Yojana,integrated child development services and the midday meals scheme.

According to the campaign, they were also concerned that the process of implementation and identification of beneficiaries will not be done properly if such a hurried approach is taken."Media reports suggest that the Government plans to complete identification within two months. If this is indeed the case, then many deserving people will be excluded and there will be no scope for community participation and monitoring in the process of identification of beneficiaries, which is central to the process being fair and effective,"the campaign said in a statement.