Current NLA avoiding act for obvious reasons, says seminar
DIMAPUR, JULY 19: The government of Nagaland failing to establish the anti-corruption mechanism Lokayukta in Nagaland is simply encouraging corruption in the already-marked state of corruption in Nagaland especially in its public sectors, a seminar in a college in Kohima has highlighted.
A seminar about the National Food Security Act and the Lokayukta was conducted at St. Joseph’s College in Kohima by the Alumni Association of St. Joseph’s College.
The president of the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organization (NVCO) Kezhokhoto Savi was the main speaker for the event. The seminar was conducted on July 19. More than 3, 400 college students attended the event.
The organizers issued a press release offering updates about the event.
Kezhokhoto Savi, an advocate, said that the current group of legislators ‘in Nagaland State Assembly’ is avoiding the Lokayukta for it would check on them and ‘some may even be punished.’ “The recent shortest Nagaland Assembly session simply asked the state governor to give another tenure to present the committee report on Lokayukta which was constituted last year. Lokayukta is to be establish in Nagaland so as to punish the corrupt public servant including politicians (chief minister, cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries/chairman/advisor and MLAs) and also amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income,” the press release stated.
The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states. The origin of the Lokayukta can be traced back to the ombudsman in Scandinavian countries. This is to provide clean, transparent and accountable Government of the people and the Lokayukta Bill was passed by the Parliament to fight against Corruption.
The organizers stated: “Corruption means misuse of entrusted power for private or personal gain. We have so much of problem with corruption dealing with public funds meant for infrastructural development, huge backdoor appointments, appointments without vacancy, contract appointment remains, etc as part of nepotism, abuse of power, favouritism and embezzlement, etc.”
“The main objective of Lokayukta is to curb the menace of corruption providing within the State and now as to why the committee failed to table their report before the state assembly and now who should be held responsible to all those conduct of corrupt practices in public sectors when the legislators are not willing to establish an institution which would curb the menace of corruption in the state.”
Also Savi listed out the main features of the National Food Security Act. The features include
i) statutory acknowledgement of hunger and malnutrition and making the right to food a legal entitlement
ii) almost doubling the people covered under PDS scheme 38% to 67% of the population
iii) strengthening and expansion of the Public Distribution System, from a situation of it being dismantled to the fair price shop and the ration system being there to stay
iv) although not universal, it is the first step towards moving away from the poverty line based divisions of APL & BPL
v) the maternal entitlements will now be universal
The National Food Security Act 2013 is to provide food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
All the states are bound to implement within 365 days i.e., by 5th July 2014, however after a delay of nearly three years, Nagaland State on 27th of June 2016 finally launched the much awaited ‘National Food security Act 2013’ and this Act would cover 78.83% of the rural populace and 61.98% of the urban populace in the state where the beneficiaries of AAY and Priority Household(PHH) would be provided 35kgs & 5kgs per head respectively of subsidized food grains at Rs.3 per kg for rice and Rs.2 for wheat in the ration of 4:1.
Together with 2,12,034 Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries, the department would cover 14,04,956 beneficiaries. In case of short supply of food grains, the centre will provide cash to the states, which will be passed on to the beneficiaries.
“This is the Act addresses the problem of hunger, poverty and undernourishment in the country. This make India the first country to recognize that ensuring food security to its citizen is not moral or ethical but also legal imperative as well,” the press release stated.
