A well deserved rap on Sharad Pawar’s knuckles

The Supreme Court has rapped agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on his knuckles. A couple of days ago, Pawar had said he could not implement the apex court’s “suggestion” to distribute free of cost the foodgrains that were rotting in godowns across the country. The Supreme Court said it had not made a suggestion but passed an order.

In what might be a brewing battle between Pawar and the SC, there is very little to choose. In India, nearly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line drawn by the World Bank (the Planning Commission doles out the more benevolent figure of 27%) and most of them go to bed hungry. To allow food to rot in this situation isn’t mere negligence, it is criminal.

The trouble is that Pawar, once considered a dynamic minister and a potential prime minister-in-waiting, appears to have too much on his plate. He is engrossed in cricket and its murky dealings, in expanding his political party, and in various quarrels with the Congress, both at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

Yet, as minister of agriculture and civil supplies, his foremost responsibility is to reach food to the people, especially the poor. Pawar needs to spend time with bureaucrats and experts in the subject to find a solution rather than merely dismiss the SC “order” as one that cannot be implemented.

Meanwhile, India needs to rethink its entire grain storage policy. It is currently storing over 57 million tonnes when the storage capacity is about 31 million tonnes, putting at risk 26 million tonnes. The storage facilities need to be improved to minimise wastage. India also needs a better approach to inventory management. The Food Corporation’s job is to ensure food security, and making grains available when they are needed.

This does not mean storing more and more grain. A policy to sell grains in the world market when we have excess and buying in the forward market to cover the shortfall could be one option worth studying. A cautious approach is needed, but we need new ideas when the alternative is to let grains rot and rats have feeding of it.