THE prices of essential commodities are shooting everyday. Data published by RBI, says that prices of potato, dal, pulses have gone up by 41 per cent as compared to that of last year. The fiscal brain of the Central Government has failed to control the prices rise. It is sad that the poor are being denied the right of having two square meals a day. It is the unorganised, voiceless people of both the rural and urban area who have been hit by the inflation in the hardest manner.
Inspite of bumper crop
There is a strange and peculiar situation of overflowing stock in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and steep rise in prices in retail outlets. India had a bumper crop of wheat and rice during the period of 2006 and 2009. Wheat production went up to 805 lac tons in 2008-09. Rice production rose to 991 lac tons in 2008-09. FCI godowns were overflowing due to good harvest of wheat and rice. Ironically prices got doubled.
Sugar cane farmers betrayed
Why did sugar prices came close to hitting half a century (Rs 50 a kg) in retail shops? Packed sugar of companies cost Rs 56 or more. This is purely due to government’s mismanagement policy. Two or three years of good harvest is followed by a year or two of low yield, primarily due to crop rotation. Wise people budget in advance for a poor monsoon. Obviously this wisdom was lost upon by the government. The year 2006-07 witnessed a record production of sugar cane to the tune of 282 lakh tones and thus prices of sugar came down as a result of which sugar cane growers got less price for their produce. When there was record production of sugar, any foresighted agriculture minister would have created a buffer stock. But, the buffer sock was not created and export of sugar was allowed. As a result of which shortage of sugar was created in the country. We were exporting sugar at the rate of Rs 12.50 per kg and importing it at the rate of Rs 35/- per kg. Export subsidy was given on the export of sugar and this profit was cornered by the mill owners. Why government allowed mill owners to earn such huge profits?
Abundance of grains in FCI godowns but not enough in the kitchens
Food Corporation of India warehouses keep heavy stocks of rice and wheat, several times more than specified buffer norms. This leads to a false sense of security about food availability. The government seems to be making a virtue of the large size of public stock of food grains. In reality it is the failure to effectively distribute food grains. Rice and wheat have no business to be in government godowns for years. They ought to be in the kitchens of the consuming public, especially the poor. For every ton of grains stored for a year, the storage cost is over Rs 2,000 a ton. This excessive level of grains in FCI warehouses is a contributory factor for price rise in the market.
Pulses stocks rotting in ports
The prices of pulses approached a ‘century’ (Rs 100) in retail outlets. It is the total carelessness of the government due to which lakhs of tons of pulses are rotting in major ports of India.
Food inflation : Centre wholly responsible
About 78 per cent of our population spends almost 60 per cent to 80 per cent of their monthly income on food articles. Then what about housing, clothing, education, medical and other most necessary immediate expenses of people belonging to middle class and other ordinary section of our society.
The public at large wants to know the reasons for the rising prices. How the decision to import and export of sugar and wheat was taken? Why future trading was allowed? In this whole painful event of price rise, how much money was gained by black marketers and multinational companies?
The Union Government always try to shirk its responsibility and try to blame the State governments. It is improper to accuse the State government, while all the powers of policy making, export-import decisions, PDS control, FCI procurement rest with the Centre. The role of the State government is only to distribute the food grains to the people.
The Centre cannot wash-off its hands from the responsibility of containing prices of food grains. Political will is needed to focus its complete attention on where it has gone wrong and what needs to be done to set it right.
