In what comes as a shocking revelation, more than a staggering 10 per cent of 56.04 lakh children in Maharashtra are malnourished and the State Government has made a budget allocation of a paltry Rs 160 per malnourished child per year. Sadly enough, not a single rupee has been spent on alleviation of malnutrition among children during the last three years.
Responding to a query by senior RTI activist and Maharashtra’s former Chief Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, Deputy Commissioner (Health and Nutrition), Government of Maharashtra, Navi Mumbai, said that the State Government had made an allocation of Rs 10.5 crore during 2016-17 and Rs 10 crore during 2017-18 for alleviation of malnutrition among children under the village child development centres run by the State Tribal Development department.
According to statistics made available Gandhi, there were as many 5,66,311 moderately under-nourished children and 83,288 severely under-nourished children in the State during 2016, as against 56,04,340 normal children in the State. The amount set aside for on each under-nourished child was a mere Rs 162 during 2016.
Similarly, the State accounted for as many as 5,50,625 moderately under-nourished children and 78,432 severely under-nourished children in the state during 2017, as against 54,82,393 normal children in the state. The amount set aside for on each under-nourished child was a mere Rs 159 during 2017.
Quoting the statistics provided to him by the State Government, Gandhi said: “But what is most shocking that the state government has not spent even one rupee on alleviation of malnutrition among children during the last two years. What is more disturbing is that the State Government had not allocated any money for alleviation of malnutrition among children during 2015-16. In essence, the State Government has not spent any money on alleviation of malnutrition among tribal children during the last three years”.
“Going by the statistics, should we take it that the Maharashtra Government has abdicated its responsibility of taking care of the malnourished children in the StateIJ,” Gandhi asked.
The statistics provided to Gandhi should be seen in the context of the admission made by the State Health Minister Deepak Sawant in the Maharashtra legislative Council in March this year – that as many as 6148 infants had died due to malnutrition in Maharashtra between April-August 2016, and the manner in which the Bombay High Court upbraided the State Government last month for the continued deaths of children owing to malnutrition.
The high court had wondered the schemes implemented by the state to improve the situation were serving their purpose and reaching the tribal areas.
It may be recalled that in September 2016, the National Human Rights Commission had sent a notice to the Maharashtra government over 600 malnutrition deaths reported from the tribal district of Palghar in a year.