Citizen Direct at India Together: Sea change in ration system

9 February 2005

What the people of Sundernagari (in New Delhi) could not achieve normally, they achieved by foregoing their rations.

On the Republic Day, a large number of people had decided that they would forego their ration entitlements for one month for the month of February to condemn the repeated violence on the people fighting against corruption in the Public Distribution System and to express their solidarity. They want to take rations only if it were given to them with honesty and dignity. They do not want rations if it involved violence, corruption and abuses.

Since 1st February, almost unbelievable things are happening in Sundernagari. The Delhi Government is keeping a strict vigil on each of the shops. The Food Inspector is moving around with a video camera to record the movement in each shop. The Assistant Commissioner and the Food Officer of the area are moving around in the area to ensure that the shops are open and there is sufficient stock. The shops which used to open for just a few days in a month are opening daily (even during the lunch hours!). The supplies never used to arrive before the 25th of any month.

This month, the supplies reached on the 1st day of February in all the shops. Earlier, the shopkeepers would abuse the poor people and cheat them, when they would go to the shops to take rations. The same shop owners are going to each house and pleading before the people to come and take rations. A daily report of the number of people who took rations in each shop is being prepared and sent to the top authorities in Delhi Government.

There are 9,000 ration card holders in Sundernagari. According to Government records, in the first six days of February, about 200 people took rations. A number of people had expressed fears that the rations that they forego might be siphoned off by unscrupulous elements. The Chief Minister assured us on Friday that necessary arrangments will be made to allow people to inspect distribution records on 5th of March. The people will be able to see whether the rations foregone by them had been returned to the Government. Not only would the illicit incomes of the shop owners take a severe beating this month, their regular incomes would also be affected due to people foregoing rations.

This means that the governments HAVE the capacity to provide clean and just governance. It also means that the constraints (of resources, manpower or systems) talked off by the governments are mostly excuses. What lacks is a WILL to provide good governance. How do you force the Governments to develop that WILL?

Arvind Kejriwal 9 Feb 2005

-Arvind Kejriwal is with the New Delhi based organization, Parivartan. www.parivartan.com

Citizen Direct is India Together’s channel for publishing reports from citizens who have detailed information about specific civil society concerns and matters, by virtue of their participation, association, or independent observation. These reports are therefore as witnessed and understood by the authors themselves; India Together accepts no liability or responsibility for them.
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