Making it easier for the women

Towards empowerment of women (The Hindu, Feb 6, 2006)
Mahesh Vijapurkar

MAHARASHTRA HAS decided to hand over ration shops to all-women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in a bid to end the massive diversion of foodgrains and kerosene. Will this be a step towards empowering women as claimed in the State Cabinet meeting on shaping the policy?
Though no precise time frame has been set, initially, outlets in the 68 tribal-dominated taluks will be handed over to the SHGs. Later, all ration shops that are closed down because of irregularities will be re-assigned to the SHGs. They would also be transferred to the SHGs wherever the gram sabhas of women-run panchayats call for it.

Shocking revelations

The Government says the decision follows revelations by a Planning Commission study that as much as 35 per cent of the foodgrains meant for the PDS in the State were diverted to non-beneficiaries, meaning the black market.

However, NGOs involved in monitoring the PDS and engaged in discussions with the Government say the arrangement of funnelling foodgrains and kerosene to the poor through 50,083 ration shops and 55,000 kerosene outlets is flawed not only because of irregularities committed by shopkeepers but also because of rampant corruption in the system. Unless the system is cleansed, they say, the women will be at a disadvantage while trying to run the outlets.

The Rationing Kruti Samiti, an alliance of several NGOs working among the poor, including tribals, across Maharashtra, says: "The Government is putting the cart before the horse." Its member, Ulka Mahajan, points out: "It is co-option without cutting out corruption. This would make the SHGs vulnerable from the very start." If that "were avoided, this is a good opportunity to empower women." Otherwise, it is like asking "poor women to become entrepreneurs in a system loaded against honesty."

Though the intent is laudable, opinion appears divided within the Government. The Civil Supplies Department, which spearheaded this proposal through the Cabinet, describes it as being "revolutionary" and says it will "empower women who have waited for their destiny for far too long."

The Rural Development Department that helped set up 79,511 all-women SHGs, tailored more to improve their credit lines and less towards economic activity, is hesitant.
But the Maharashtra Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM) — the women's economic development corporation — is quite enthusiastic. It sees this as a definite step on the path towards empowering women. A. Ramakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Civil Supplies, says: "Training is a critical input we would provide" and concedes, "MAVIM-sponsored 5,000-odd SHGs could be my main vehicle for they are involved in economic activity already."

If the plan succeeds, housewives will be spared the task of running around for kerosene and foodgrains. The optimistic say women have the best reasons to be motivated to make it succeed. Others point to the serious, practical difficulties such as the presence of bribe-demanding officials who have helped generate lakhs of fake ration cards. Such cards are now being culled.
Many problems

But even a supportive MAVIM has a worry. If the supply chain gets disrupted and bills are not paid in time, then the SHGs' meagre savings will get eroded. Apart from training SHGs, it points out, officials at all levels, especially at the field level, will need to be sensitised. The NGOs say eliminating corruption will be impossible because politicians too have their fingers in the pie. Bhim Raskar of the Committee of Resource Organisations, an NGO, says: "Running fair price shops is just not economically beneficial." When his group helped promote one such outlet to be run by one of their SHGs on the outskirts of Mumbai, it took years for it to stabilise, avoid giving bribes and still break even. The only benefit was getting ration supplies to the poor on time. But "even this was an uphill task. It is difficult to run honestly," he says.

The commissions paid to ration shops are abysmally low. The margins are seven per cent for rice, and eight per cent for wheat. Since the sale of other profit-making items is banned, breaking even becomes "almost impossible."

So, the question is: "Can first generation women entrepreneurs cope with all this?" If they do, it would truly be a revolution.