(Guest)

Constitutional authoritis clash:Collective Conscience wanted

/www.indiaeveryday.com/finance/fullnews-scs-grain-advice-may-get-govt-snub-times-of-india-1023-1751503.htm

SC's grain advice may get govt snub

Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN, Sep 6, 2010, 03.35am IST

NEW DELHI: The policy stand-off between the Supreme Court and the Centre over food security is likely to deepen on Monday, with the latter set to either sidestep, brush aside or even openly disagree with the court's suggestions, especially the one on free distribution of foodgrain rotting in FCI and government godowns to the poorest of the poor.

A late evening meeting on Sunday to prepare the response to the SC's August 31 order on the working of PDS decided that the government should tiptoe around the suggestion to give grain free to the poor and hungry rather than waste it.

In the response it is to give on Monday, government will give details of the wastage in FCI and state
godowns, and attempt to rationalise it saying some of it "is inevitable".

According to sources, government plans to tell the court that it has, at the court's instance, decided to release an additional 25 lakh tonnes of PDS foodgrain for BPL families for six months as an ad hoc measure. A decision on the issue will have to wait till Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council has worked out the details of the proposed National Food Security Act.

The tentativeness, if calculated, will not be on display in the response to SC's suggestion for abolition of ration cards for above poverty line (APL) families. The court had said that there was no point in giving subsidized wheat or rice to those who could afford to buy it from open market when poor were not getting foodgrain.

The Centre, through additional solicitors general Mohan Parasaran and Harin Raval, plans to tell the SC that APL families were being given foodgrain only after meeting the needs of Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and BPL families.

Centre has also decided to make plain its disagreement with another suggestion of the court: not to procure foodgrain beyond storage capacity. The Centre again said it was impossible to limit procurement as by doing this it will hurt the Centre's policy to give attractive price to farmers and encourage them to grow grain.

If the procurement was limited to the storage capacity, then the farmers would be left at the mercy of traders who would not pay remunerative prices, government is likely to argue. It will stress that all attempts would be made to to increase storage capacity rather than limit procurement of foodgrain.

Read more: SC's grain advice may get govt snub - India - The Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SCs-grain-advice-may-get-govt-snub/articleshow/6503275.cms#ixzz0yiGPEU8q

Do we have COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE? If not, can we have it?

Reply Follow

4 Replies

N.K.Assumi (Advocate) 06 September 2010

Our Conscience is very clear concurring with the views of the supreme Court coupled with the will power to back the observations of the supreme court. The price of rice has sky rocketed in the market while foodgrains are rotting in the godowns and FCI. What more do we need to hear from the Government except to confused the people by failing to convinvce the rotting fooodgrains in their possession.

(Guest)

It seems govt is out weighing SC.

N.K.Assumi (Advocate) 08 September 2010

Certainly there are some limitations to the Powers of Supreme Court, but this is a clear case of Human Rights violations and of Great National importance and we can not just sit and expect the Supreme court to keep its finger crossed in such National importance, that also in matters affecting the rights of the poorest of the poor to those millions of Indians living below poverty Line. Rather CBI should step in.

(Guest)

Litimus test of communism.

Grains are rotting.SC ordered for free distribution to poor to prevent wastage.

For aam aadmi there is nothing wrong in the order. But then a lot of intellectual exercise is going on.

Issue No.1.Prevention of rotting. What to speak of SC even every Indian citizen has the duty to do so u/a 51-A of the constitution.

2.Free distribution-Here SC became communist. But the compromise formula is already decided to sell the grains with a nominal price.it is OK and communism fails here.

3.Rotting Vs.Free. SC was concerned about rotting and that is reasonably but ordering free distribution was emotional. Centre is capitalizing on it to over shadow rotting. I think govt. must compensate the nation from the pay of the negligents instead of being defensive.

4.Jurisdiction- In the name of jurisdiction you can not be anti-national and promote rotting of grains. Government must bring the negligents into books howsoever powerful they may be.