N Food Security Bill: Top official optimistic of smooth implementation

 An ordinance pushed by the Union Cabinet to implement the National Food Security Bill will pave the way for providing food grains to poorer sections of the country at highly subsidised rates. The ordinance will become law following the approval of the President, which is said to have come on Friday.

According to a source, who is associated with the drafting and implementation of the Bill, the Bill will guarantee two-thirds of the Indian population food grains at subsidised rates and there will be no corruption since grievances redressal forums will be set up in every district to ensure its smooth implementation.

Speaking to FnB News, the source informed, “The ordinance has been passed to implement the Food Security Bill but it will have to be cleared by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Bill will entitle three-fourths of rural population and half the urban population in the country rice, wheat and coarse grains - 5 kg at Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1 per kg respectively.”

He added, “This Bill would burn the pocket of the government by Rs 1,25,000 crore and require more than 61 million tonne of food grains. There is ample availability of food grains and it is on the state governments to act now. Million tonne of food grains are rotten in godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) so this Bill will reduce the wastage.”

“The state governments will now have to identify the beneficiaries on a warfooting through open transparent criteria. If the beneficiaries don't get the benefits after the implementation of the Bill they can go to the court,” he stated, on a concluding note.

Tobacco ban triggers high demand, hoarding fears – The New Indian Express

Health experts fear that the ban would lead to addiction to alternative substances | Express Photo

While  the ban on gutka and pan masala is being implemented in full force,  other issues such as blackmarketing  and alternative addictive substances have become a cause for concern for enforcement agencies and the Health Department.

Among the biggest fears is the possible hoarding of the illegal pan masala and its sale in the black market at high prices.

Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authorities seized around 250 kilograms of illegal pan masala from a house in a residential area in Ayanavaram. According to officials, the estimated value of the stock is around Rs 1 lakh. The price would have been much higher, had it found its way to the black market.

“We are taking all possible measures to ensure that there is no hoarding. Four teams have been formed in the city, for the North, South, East and Western parts, to check the illegal storage of pan masala and gutka. In this first phase, we are seizing and destroying the illegal products and serving notices on the shops and the persons concerned. In the coming days, the offenders will face stiff penalties,” says a senior official with the Food Safety and Standards Department.

Health experts say that as per previous experience in other areas, a ban on addictive substances often leads to high demand.

“Immediately after a ban on an addictive substance, there is usually a surge in the demand. This is especially true in the case of chewable tobacco, since the addiction is almost twice as that of cigarettes. The demand can take the form of an increase in black marketing. But, if we are able to direct these consumers to tobacco cessation units, it would be a great step forward in bringing down the addiction rates,” says Prasanna Kannan, WHO Consultant, State Tobacco Control Unit.

Kannan adds that though there is a short-term increase in demand, in the long run the demand is bound to reduce in the lack of availability and the high prices of black market products.

Another concern here is that people who have been used to the chewable tobacco addiction might take to other alternatives.

“Due to sudden unavailability of pan masala and gutka, consumers may take to alternative tobacco products like cigarettes. As such it is important that those who have weaned away from the chewable tobacco are given help so that they do not fall into the trap of another tobacco product,” Kannan adds.

The State Tobacco Control Unit has strengthened its training and awareness programmes.

Pan vendors hope that their tobacco customers will revert to non-tobacco products like sweet pan.

“After the ban, our daily sales has gone down by 50 percent. The customers who take to tobacco-based pan or gutka are not satisfied with anything else and roam around from one shop to the other in search of it. Hopefully these people will take to alternatives like sweet paan, otherwise it will be difficult to run the business,” says a vendor in Vepery.

SC wants action to check Milk Adulteration

A Government survey that found nearly 70 per cent of milk packets and samples in urban country side to be adulterated led the Supreme Court on Tuesday to question the Centre and States on what disciplinary action was initiated against officers who failed to curb this menace.

Finding that Uttar Pradesh was the most notorious in adulteration of both packed and loose milk, the bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghosh said: “If 88 per cent of milk is adulterated then the concerned officers need to be prosecuted.”

The court was hearing a PIL seeking regulatory standards to curb sale and manufacture of adulterated milk.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Rakesh  Khanna informed the court that the situation did merit attention as the survey conducted by Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) showed shocking levels of adulterated milk on sale across the country.

Revealing these details in an affidavit filed before the court, FSSA’s top-ranking officer stated that the sale of adulterated milk was high in urban areas and the common adulterants found were glucose, milk powder and water. Shockingly, some samples even showed traces of detergents, which is unsafe for consumption.

In all, the survey collected 1,791 samples from 33 States, of which 1226, i.e 68.4 per cent were found to be “non-conforming.” Of this, 381 samples were of rural areas while 845 pertained to the urban population. The study also found 282 among the urban samples to be packed milk with the remaining being loose milk sold in cities.

Agreeing with the grievance expressed in the PIL filed by one Swami Achyutanand Tirth, the bench said: “There is no doubt that adulteration of milk is happening all over the country. It is a very sensitive issue.” But the PIL focused on the health hazard posed by such adulterants.

Even the FSSA study found that water was the most common adulterant. “Addition of water not only reduced the nutritional value of milk but posed a health risk, if contaminated water was mixed,” the affidavit said.

The Court also recalled seeing on television how external agents are added to make milk thick, fatty and foamy. Turning the heat on the Government agencies to improve vigilance and enforce law using punitive measures, the bench observed: “If it (such practices) is still going on we want to know what action has been taken against the officers. We expect at least some disciplinary action to be taken.”

At present only six States are party to the PIL proceedings which included Rajasthan, Haryana, UP, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Assam. The court included even the State of Maharashtra and directed all States and the Centre to respond before July 31, the next date of hearing.