The Week India – July 14, 2019

46 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019

INVESTIGATION

BIHAR

diction. On ground, the number of

benefi ciaries further gets reduced.

As per ICDS’s website, there are

only 79.40 lakh benefi ciaries at the

99,583 operational anganwadis.

Deduct the number of pregnant

women and adolescent girls—10.95

lakh—and only 68 lakh children

benefi t from the scheme. Th at is

just about 36 per cent of 1.91 crore

children below six years in the state

(2011 census).

Th is, say experts, is a gross viola-

tion of not only the Supreme Court

directives on universalisation of

ICDS, issued between 2004 and 2006,

but also the food security act, which

guarantees the right to food and

nutrition to all. “Th is is systemic ex-

clusion of needy children that could

be termed nutrition apartheid,” says

activist Sachin Jain of Right to Food

Campaign. “Th ere is an immediate

necessity for a social audit of child

health and nutrition programmes in

the state.”

Rupesh Kumar, former state advis-

er to Supreme Court commissioners

in the Right to Food case, says, “Our

work on ground and studies, too,

reveal that only about 35 per cent

children in Bihar are covered under

ICDS, which is indicative of their

nutrition condition. No wonder

they are susceptible to diseases,

including AES.”

Rina Devi Sahni of Mallah Tola in

the same village would agree. Her

sons, Prince, 7, and Chhotu, 2, died

of AES on consecutive days. She has

sent her three other children to her

parents’ home. Her sons, too, did

not go to the anganwadi or receive

the rations. “It is quite far from our

home, too,” she says.

Mohua Chatterjee, programme

head of east India operations at CRY

(Child Rights & You), says while the

state has taken some positive steps,

the ground reality is diff erent in

many districts. “Th e need of the hour

is to reach out to the last child and

ensure the right to food and nutri-

tion is translated into reality, which

means ensuring ICDS coverage for

all children in every remote hamlet,”

she says.

State authorities, however, deny

that there was a cap on the number

of benefi ciaries. While social

welfare minister Ramsewak Singh

categorically says there is no such

order, ICDS director Alok Kumar,

in a reply to THE WEEK’s email,

says, “ICDS services in Bihar have

been universal since June 2014.

To implement the National Food

Security Act, 2013, ICDS Bihar

had universalised its service to

all through letter no. 3429 dated

19-06-2016.” As for the benefi ciary

fi gures on its website, he says “it

is for budgetary provision”. “Some

average number of benefi ciaries

has to be considered,” he says. “Th is

is a moving average and the actual

numbers at anganwadi centres could

be diff erent.” He did not explain why

anganwadi workers adhered to the

number fi xed on the site.

15,426

non-operational

anganwadis—the

highest in India

19,614

vacancies for

anganwadi

workers; 20,726

for anganwadi

helpers

164 (18.8%)

posts vacant for

child development

programme

offi cers; 2,079

(44.2%) for lady

supervisors

HERE FOR A MORSEL

Children wait for food at anganwadi number

91 at Harivanshpur village

DEEPAK KUMAR