Delivery lies in the detail

While the act has been passed, the date(s) for when the various provisions will be enacted has not yet been specified. Introducing acts using elections as a timeline is not necessarily bad policy if it is followed up by ensuring efficient and sustainable delivery of the provisions. The state can ensure that its hunger index is reduced and improve the nutritional levels of its people if its recent record of success in implementation of the PDS can be sustained and enhanced to ensure effective implementation of the mechanisms proposed by the act.

Regions such as Chhattisgarh, which are now trying to tackle and overcome their poor development indicators, can learn from best practices and successes in other states in India. Tamil Nadu has had experience of programmes for food security for at least 25 years. This state has, over the years, learned to improve its performance through technological interventions, innovation and effective delivery mechanisms, monitoring and responsibly involving multiple bodies at the local level. The Tamil Nadu model can provide a template to ensure that the aspirations of the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act is successfully implemented in all its aspects.

The writer is co-director of the India Observatory at the London School of Economics, UK

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