NGOs feed people in the lockdown due to coronavirus in India, outperforms the Government in 13 states.

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in 13 states have outperformed the state/union territories governments in providing meals to the poor during the lockdown.

The lockdown was imposed on 25th March amidst the rapid spread of the coronavirus in India.

According to a report submitted to the Apex court, a total of 84,26,509 people were provided with meals all across the country.

Among which the state governments fed around 54.15 lac people and the remaining 30.11 lac people were fed by NGOs.

The majority of these meals were offered to stranded migrant laborers and needy people who have been hit most severely. 

In states like Kerala and Telangana nearly all the meals were provided by the NGOs whereas, in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Mizoram, NGOs provided more than 90% of the meals.

In all, there are as many as 9 states and union territories where the NGOs provided meals to more than 75% of the people. 

Whereas in states like Delhi, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu, the state governments have been more active in providing meals.

Statistically, in Delhi the government was responsible for feeding 92.14% of the people, the government fed 93.1% and 75.58% of the people in Tamil Nadu and Haryana respectively.

After food, the NGOs have come forward to help provide shelters:

An analysis of the central government shows that the NGOs have helped provide shelter to 39.14% of the total of 10.37 lac people who took refuge in shelter camps.

Maharashtra is a leading example of this, of the 4.47 lac relief or shelter homes set up there, 83.56 percent of them were by NGOs.

In Meghalaya, this figure exceeds to around 95%.

The NGOs are responsible for providing shelter to more than 40% of the people in about six states which includes Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab, apart from those mentioned before. 

Northern states lead in feeding people whereas the south in sheltering them :

Haryana and Delhi are the states that are responsible for feeding the most number of people during the lockdown situation. Of the total 54.15 lac people fed by various state governments, Haryana and Delhi account for 34.70 lac of them.

They are closely followed by Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, each of them feeding around 2-6 lac people.

When it comes to shelter, Kerala has outperformed every other state. The government there has been responsible for nearly 50% of the people who have taken shelter in government set up relief or shelter camps across India.

Of the total 22,567 shelter camps reported in the Supreme Court.

The Kerala government has alone set up 15.541 camps i.e. 69.86 percent of the total. Kerala is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with 2,230 and 1,135 camps respectively.

Permission from Government to buy foodgrains from FCI:

Concurrently, the central government declared on Wednesday that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will provide foodgrains to the NGOs at open market sale rates. This is to ensure the smooth functioning of the services of the NGOs.

The government, in a press release, said, “NGOs and charitable organizations are playing an important role in providing cooked food to thousands of poor and needy people during this time of nationwide lockdown.” Before this, only state governments and bulk users were allowed to buy stock from FCI at such rates. A limit of 10MT at a time has been put on purchasing but with the FCI being widely connected across the country, this will ensure an uninterrupted supply of grains.

Also, directions have been issued for the district magistrates to see that the purpose of feeding the poor and the migrant laborers are met.