On 24 July 2018, 39-year old Rajendra Birhor of Chainpur (Gram Panchayat Nawadih, block Mandu, district Ramgarh) succumbed to poor nutrition and illness. A fact finding team comprising of members of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, the Right to Food Campaign and Human Rights Law Network learnt that Rajendra Birhor’s family was not issued a ration card under the National Food Security Act. According to the Block Development Officer (BDO), the family was excluded from the Public Distribution System as it did not have Aadhaar.
As per Supreme Court orders, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups” (PVTGs) – which include Birhors – are entitled to 35kg of foodgrain every month on an Antyodaya Anna Yojana ration card. Further, Jharkhand’s PVTG households are to get foodgrain free of cost at their doorstep.
Rajendra Birhor stopped working about a year ago due to extreme weakness. His wife managed to find work for only 2-3 days a week. Due to the sharp fall in the family’s income over the past year, the husband, wife and their six children routinely ate less food of inadequate nutrition. The family last worked under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in 2010-11. It also does not receive the state social security pension of Rs 600 a month for PVTG households. The BDO was unaware of this scheme.
About a month and a half ago, Rajendra Birhor fell seriously ill. He was taken to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Mandu, as doctors are not available at the local Primary Health Centre. The doctor at the CHC referred him to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at Ranchi. The doctor met by the fact finding team was unable to explain why simple procedures such as blood and urine tests were not conducted at the medical facilities in Mandu or Ramgarh. No medicine was prescribed to Rajendra Birhor at the CHC. Unable to take Rajendra Birhor to RIMS, his family brought him back home. It paid Rs 3,000 to a local “jholachhaap” doctor for his treatment, for which it had to sell a pig. The doctor at the CHC blamed the local Sahiya (also known as ASHA – Accredited Social Health Activist) for not following up on Rajendra Birhor’s health.
On 14 June 2018, Chitaman Malhar of the same block died of hunger. Investigations revealed that none of the families of the locality – Malhar Toli of Kundariya Basti – have a ration card. When the fact finding team visited Malhar Toli on 26 July, it learnt that no household in the locality had received a ration card or its foodgrain entitlement under the National Food Security Act.
Chitaman Malhar’s death is preceded by a spate of 11 starvation deaths in Jharkhand, all within a span of nine months. In at least seven of these deaths, Aadhaar-related failures clearly contributed to starvation. The government has taken no note of the demand for a universal Public Distribution System with inclusion of nutritious items such as pulses and edible oil and the delinking of welfare programmes with Aadhaar.