Maharashtra's horror: Food for starving children siphoned off, sold as feed for livestock

Thane: It is tale of shame from Maharashtra's Thane district. An NDTV investigation has found that nutrition supplements meant for malnourished children in anganwadis are being siphoned off by middlemen, allegedly in connivance with government officials. The supplements are then sold to poultry and dairy farms as feed for livestock.

A hidden-camera investigation uncovered this nexus in Vikramgadh taluka in Thane district. Activists say that this malpractice is not just limited to Thane but spread  across the state.  "There is no community control. It is only a systemic control which is apathetic towards the whole issue because it's not their children who are malnourished. It is the alienation of the entire bureaucracy from the poor is another issue which is affecting all the schemes for food, whether it is PDS (public distribtion scheme) or ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services), " said Lina Joshi, the former Director of an NGO, Apnalaya.

An NDTV team posed as potential buyers and approached middleman Yashwant Thakre. Once the NDTV team gained his confidence he showed the team empty packets of the supplements. The contents of the packets had been emptied into larger gunny bags and stored at his house. Mr Thakre told this NDTV team, "This comes from the government talukas. The supply that comes to the taluka, we get hold of with a little bit of adjustment. This belongs to the government. You cannot sell it outside."  

Anticipating a large order, Mr Thakre gave NDTV's team samples in packets that  were marked 'Not for Sale'.

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Maharashtra has 95,380 functioning anganwadis. The state, with the central government's assistance, spends Rs 1280 crore each year on providing nutrition to children through these anganwadis. In spite of this, there are 80,586 severely underweight children in Maharashtra.

The supplements are sent to anganwadis to ensure that children from economically weaker sections of the population get enough basic nutrition. But due to an absence of proper monitoring, middlemen like Mr Thakre siphon it off  to make a quick buck, and deny the children what is rightfully theirs.

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According the Maharashtra government's figures,  1,17,493 children have died in the last four years due to malnutrition in state. In 2011-12 alone, 21,533 children have died due to malnutrition. These numbers have left many stunned and even led to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling malnutrition "a national shame". But even as the government fights against malnutrition, middlemen, allegedly with the collusion of some government authorities, ensure that the children go hungry.

Lina Joshi who has studied the Anganwadi system said, "It is shocking in the sense that at the cost of malnourishment which Maharashtra is facing such things are going on. Let's face it that all these years we talked about being a progressive state; we are also now very high on malnourishment status both in urban, rural and tribal areas. And I think this is something which all of us have to accept including the system; that what is happening is that the children who are malnourished are increasing in number and that needs to be strictly controlled."

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When NDTV brought this scam to the notice of the Women and Child Development minister of Maharashtra, Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, she promised action against those found guilty. "I have not yet received any complaint but since you have done a sting operation I am happy that I have come to know what is going on in Thane district and we will take action against the CDPO, the supervisor and the sevika who is working there and we will ensure this will not take place anywhere else in Maharashtra. We are tackling malnutrition in Maharashtra and we want the state to be malnutrition free. We will not tolerate these things and we will definitely take action," she said.

Meanwhile the Opposition has found another issue to attack the Government. State BJP President Sudhir Mungantiwar said, "The benifit of our schemes should go to those malnourished. But it is true that there are many places like Melghat, Nandurbar and Dhulia where the money is misused. And it is of no use asking this government - a government which can snatch land meant for the Kargil war widows, a government which can eat away children playgrounds, a government which can eat away the food meant for malnourished people. I think it is of no use expecting anything from this government".

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Krishna Tirath, Union Women and Child Development Minister has said she has spoken to the Maharashtra home secretary and has asked for a full report on the NDTV expose. She says she's also asked for fool proof systems to be created to ensure that food meant for children reaches them and isn't siphoned off. "The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a well-established scheme for food to reach malnourished tribal areas. A few people in one particular state are bringing disrepute to it and they will be dealt with strictly," she said.

The Bombay High Court too has slammed the state for its apathy and inaction.

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The shocking ground reality of the ICDS scheme explains why Maharashtra has so many malnourished children. Vikramgadh taluka has a large tribal  population and malnutrition is very high amongst them.

In fact, Thane district is one of the worst performing districts when it comes to malnutrition. In the 4865 anganwadis in the district, there are 6224 severely underweight children. But with such malpractices it is not difficult to imagine why Thane district is almost at the bottom of the list when it comes to malnutrition.
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