Even as a nascent state, we account for 13 per cent of the total mineral output of the country—16 per cent of its iron ore, 19 per cent of its coal and 25 per cent dolomite. We have immense possibilities of producing the best diamonds in the world; yet a third of our population had no means of getting at least one square meal a day. I had to remedy the situation. As soon as our government came to power in 2003, our first decision was to implement food security for all. It started with Amrit Namak—a basic necessity not available to our tribals for centuries which has had severe genetic effects. It is now the only state in the country where you can get iodised salt at 25 paise a kg when in most other places you would perhaps never actually get to see a 25 paise coin.

Our most ambitious scheme—the chief minister’s food security scheme—was launched in April 2007. It envisages rice for every BPL family, irrespective of caste and community, at Rs 3 a kg. Initially, 12.14 lakh SC/ST families were brought under its ambit but from January this year, we have been able to provide 35 kg of rice at Rs 3 for each of the 33.02 BPL families in the state.

Policy planners now tell us that costs of subsidies like these are immense. I don’t have an argument with them but I have seen that the costs of not giving these subsidies are far higher and have such spiraling effects on the entire population and economy that it literally sets us back by centuries. The government has set aside Rs 837 crore for the Food Security scheme—part of it is funded by the Centre but we still have to put an extra Rs 352 crore annually to keep the scheme running. To add to our burden, the Centre has reduced our APL share of rice by nearly 57,000 metric tonnes per month while we are one of the few states that contribute generously to the central grain pool.

The Centre has also consistently refused to listen to our pleas about the number of BPL families in the state. It works on the assumption of that there are only 18.75 lakh BPL families in the state while it is actually twice the size at 33.02 lakh families. My government nevertheless works for all the families and has made provisions accordingly.

Monitoring: Doubts and questions about the smooth running and efficacy of the schemes have been raised. Without proper monitoring, the best of schemes can come apart. It is as important to reach the grain to the needy as it is to envisage a policy like this. Making use of modern technology, we have established call centres with toll free numbers where anyone can lodge a complaint about the non-availability of rice and it is directly monitored by the food and civil supplies department. As soon as a truck leaves the godown for a particular village, the details of the carrier and quantity are SMSed to the sarpanch and responsible citizens of the area. They can immediately confirm with the local ration shop about the availability of rice. My aim is to involve as many people as possible in the monitoring so that the chances of corruption are minimised. There are other methods as well, like fitting trucks with GPRS monitoring systems so that they do not stray from their path. Jan Bhagidari websites are some of the other methods of public monitoring.

Supply Chain: It is not just rice, we have taken care of the entire food supply chain. The number of ration shops have been substantially increased and taken out of private hands. We now have 10,500 shops. Two litres of kerosene is distributed free to every needy person on Haat Bazaar day. We have spent Rs 43 crore in establishing 2,000 grain banks and another 5,500 shops run entirely by women. Chawal Utsav and credit facility are a few other innovative ideas.

Eventually, what does food security mean for my people? Rice itself is not enough as it only provides essential starch but if a family spends a substantial sum every month in procuring expensive rice, then they have very little left for other essentials like education, health and child care. My effort is to allow them to buy their monthly requirement of rice on a single day’s wages so that they can use the surplus from the other 29 days to add value to their lives. As a doctor, I know a healthier Chhattisgarh will be a happier Chhattisgarh.