Governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu must comply with Right to Food Obligations

In December 2006, a FIAN International fact-finding mission composed of representatives from Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, concluded with a set of observations and recommendations to the Indian government. The mission investigated and verified violations of the right to food and water in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu related to threats of eviction, denial of land titles, lack of access to water, and the flawed implementation of the public distribution system (PDS).

In Karnataka, the mission observed a number of shortcomings with regard to State compliance with its human rights obligations. In Kulwalli, around 900 tenant farmers in nine villages of Kulwalli gram panchayat have been denied land titles making them rightful owners of the land they have tilled for the last two to three decades. This denial goes on in spite of land reforms and assurance by the authorities to take steps to provide the actual cultivators with land titles. “The tenants live in continuous fear of evictions and uncertainty and are unable to fully realise their right to feed themselves”, says Ashwini Mankame, member of the mission team, from FIAN International. In entire Karnataka, mismanagement in the PDS is rampant, Supreme Court orders on the PDS are not being implemented in Davengere district. Identification of persons above and below poverty line is completely flawed; ration shops are not open everyday; people are unable to buy grains in instalments; there is no accountability of the PDS dealers and a lack of awareness of entitlements. Lack of effective implementation prevents the people dependent on the PDS from getting their entitlements and makes them vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.

In Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, people are largely dependent on agriculture to feed themselves. Although the land is fertile, the small holders get only one crop per year due to lack of irrigation water. Their demands for irrigation have not been met by the government of Tamil Nadu. Water for drinking is also inadequate. Under these conditions, a water intensive Coca Cola factory was permitted to operate in the region, which threatens the right to food and water of the people and holds the government in breach of their obligations. During the mission the team was informed that hundreds of cattle had died after drinking waste water from the Coca Cola factory. The cause of the cattle deaths is being investigated. Reports on experiences in Plachimada in Kerala, Kaladera in Rajasthan and Mehendiganj in Uttar Pradesh indicate that Coca Cola factories have had adverse effects on the communities there. The mission was therefore concerned about imminent right to food and water violations. In Nilgiris district, the Toda community has traditionally been pastoralist but also undertook agriculture to feed themselves. Although the Todas’ right of access to the land they had settled was recognised by the British prior to independence and by the Indian government, they do not have the legal documents and titles to the land making them vulnerable to threats, exploitation and susceptible to hunger and malnutrition.

On the basis of these observations, the preliminary recommendations of the fact-finding mission include the following:
– The Governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should take necessary steps to provide land titles to the tenants in Kulwalli, and the Todas in Nilgiri. 
– The Government of Karnataka should ensure that the Public distribution system functions in a way ordered by the Supreme Court and help the people to avail their entitlements
– The Government of Tamil Nadu should take steps to provide irrigation and drinking water in Tirunelveli district and protect the people from threat to their right to water due to companies like Coca Cola.