Put a stop to these 'anna bhagyas' please

On Wednesday, the Karnataka government was forced to stall its assembly election promise of 10 kg free rice every month (including 5 kg supplied by GoI) for below poverty line (BPL) families after it failed to procure enough grain to run the scheme. Instead, it will now pay ₹170 a month from July 1. To run the Anna Bhagya scheme (ABS), which covers an estimated 12.8 million low-income families, the Siddaramaiah government was planning to purchase 228,000 tonnes a month from Food Corporation of India (FCI). On June 13, GoI stopped FCI from selling rice and wheat to states under its Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic). While Karnataka has accused GoI of sabotaging the free-rice plan, the latter has said the decision was aimed at controlling retail inflation in food grains.

Many see ABS-type schemes as manipulative, disincentivising human enterprise. The mass distribution of such goods also bears costs to the public exchequer - and, in many cases, has a negative long-term environment and development fallouts (such as, free electricity leading to groundwater depletion in Punjab). All parties indulge in it, as there is a strong demand for such schemes, thanks to uneven economic development and a lack of adequate social security for a large segment of people.

The culture of freebies is not unique to India. It can only change if all political parties agree to stop offering such competitive, expensive sops, and when there is a clear understanding of the difference between welfare goods and freebies. But the voters' attraction for 'revadi' will not reduce unless there is a marked improvement in the implementation and delivery of basic roti, kapda, makaan-plus welfare schemes essential for maintaining the basic dignity of life.