Food security, Naxal violence, communalism are NAC priorities
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COMMENTS 
The new National Advisory Council has decided to put food security, communal violence, and tribal development at the top of its priority list, besides monitoring better implementation of existing social sector schemes
The National Advisory Council (NAC) has formally begun the task of steering the government’s pro-poor and pro-people social programmes by putting food security, left-wing extremism, and the prevention of communal violence among the immediate issues and challenges it will take up.
The government’s anti-Naxal policy is not going down very well with some members. When the 14 experts on the panel, along with Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the NAC’s first meeting, on June 10, 2010, Ram Dayal Munda warned: “You are losing the war against Naxalism.”
The Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand, who noted the absence of any administration in Naxal areas, underscored the need for development and local participation in it.
His comments came just ahead of a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting to discuss greater involvement of the armed forces in dealing with the Naxal problem. Gandhi had, in the party magazine, Congress Sandesh, recently stressed that while terror must be dealt with firmly, it was necessary to bring development to backward areas.
The NAC decided it would discuss the issues of left-wing extremism and communal violence tentatively, on July 14. Before that, the panel will meet on July 1 to deliberate on the Food Security Bill that seeks to provide the poor foodgrain at Rs 3 per kg, per month.
While flagging the issue, the panel emphasised that food security must not be made a dole but must be accompanied by efforts to make people self-reliant. “This must be accompanied by revitalisation of agriculture,” said one member.
According to a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) release, the NAC -- which gave the right to information and rural employment guarantee Acts in its first tenure -- will now focus on the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, besides minority welfare, natural resource management, poverty alleviation, employment generation, land reforms, etc.
NAC members include M S Swaminathan, R D Munda, Narendra Jadhav, Pramod Tandon, Jean Dreze, Aruna Roy, Madhav Gadgil, N C Saxena, A K Shiva Kumar, Deep Joshi, Anu Aga, Farah Naqvi, Harsh Mander and Mirai Chatterjee.
All were of the view that the government should focus on bringing tribals into the mainstream through development, especially though drinking water schemes, education, employment schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and food security.
The terms of reference of the NAC include monitoring the progress of implementation of the UPA government’s agenda, as outlined in the presidential address, in June 2009, and providing inputs for the formulation of policy by government and support in its legislative business.
Source: The Hindustan Times, June 11, 2010
The Indian Express, June 11, 2010
The Economic Times, June 11, 2010