Anti-Poor Laws and Policies
§ Over time, the expenditure on the various poverty alleviation programmes has increased significantly. It is true that these programmes play a vital role in ensuring that the poor are able to sustain themselves, particularly during the lean seasons, through generation of additional employment and incomes. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that spending money is not the only way of ameliorating the conditions of the poor. Scant attention has been paid to the role of non-monetary policies and institutional arrangements that affect the lives of the common people, especially the poor. There are several laws and policies that are anti-poor. The knowledge about them is scattered and often anecdotal. However, some examples may illustrate the nature of the problem.
§ For tribals and forest dwellers minor forest produce obtained from forest and common property resources is a major source of livelihood. However, the poor tribals are facing problems in gathering this minor forest produce due to diversion of non-timber forest produce to the industry.
§ Bamboo forests are being readily leased to the paper industries regardless of the provision in the Forest Policy 1988 that stipulates that the forest dwellers have the first charge on the forest produce. Rural artisans, who make products out of bamboo, face shortage of raw material as the forest departments allot them green bamboo in rationed quantities.
§ This practice has been observed in Karnataka and Orissa. In some cases, forestland is leased out to private industry for long periods. This too adversely affects the poor.
§ The forest department also issues licenses to women for gum collection from babool trees and compels them to sell their entire collection to the forest department at a prescribed price that is one third to one fourth of the market price. In some States, tribals can collect hill brooms but cannot process these into a broom nor can they sell the collected items in the open market. Thus, the poor are prevented from making value addition through processing and are denied the right to get the best price for their produce.
§ Licensing activities for the poor in rural areas are cumbersome and time consuming. To set up a charcol kiln one requires four to five types of permission.
§ The cattle flayers in UP have no legal control over their own produce i.e. the hides they flay from the naturally fallen animals. The Zilla Parishads award contracts either to individuals or to cooperatives for collection and storage of hides. Hence, the flayers are not able to sell in the open market but are forced to accept the terms made by the contractors. Again in Bihar, auction ferry right is made in favour of Zamindars and contractors who collect tolls and taxes from the poor who have to cross the river to sell their produce.
§ In addition, those who are fishing or plying boats across the river have to pay taxes to the Zamindars. Normally, access to, and use of, the river should be free to farmers, labourers, petty traders etc. In Assam, the fishery laws are such that the fishermen do not benefit from them. A sector of the river is leased out to “Mohildhars” who auction the fish and only 1/3rd is given to fishermen who actually catch the fish. These are ways in which common property resources are being used in a way that are prejudicial to the poor.
§ The rural poor do not have a level playing field as the market for a single trader or cartel of traders operating in the area dominates their finished products. In the market, the terms of trade are against them. Neither the public nor the private sector has encouraged the growth of poor peoples organisations but, instead, has either tried to suppress or control them. Cooperatives could have become the real supporters of the poor and needy but the process for their formation and registration is very cumbersome.
§ Where cooperatives of poor people have been successful such as womens beedi cooperatives, they have been taken over by private companies. Similarly, the Government has often interfered with the independence of the cooperatives by putting government operators incharge of them.
§ Such examples abound. An exercise has already been done to document some of these laws and policies. In the Ninth Plan, an attempt will be made to initiate the process of identifying anti-poor laws/policies, Statewise. These would be brought to the notice of the policy makers, local governments and NGOs so that these may be suitably modified and/or repealed in the interest of the poor.
URL – http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/9th/vol2/v2c2-3.htm