Due To Lack Of Aadhaar, Ration Card & Pension, Hundreds Of Tribals In Jharkhand Are Going Hungry To Bed

From the interiors of Latehar-Palamu belt of Jharkhand, stories of hunger, struggle with identity documents and denial of social entitlements are emerging thanks to a survey of households that are home to the Parhaiyas community, identified as one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Not only are they, the most vulnerable among tribals, facing discrimination in school admissions in the absence of Aadhaar, but with pensions and rations denied, several are often going to bed on an empty stomach.

A significantly high 33% of the 325 Parhaiya households - 232 in Manika and 93 in Satbarwa blocks are reported to have told the survey team that they slept hungry a few times and 10% said that they went to bed hungry many times over the last three months.

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Carried out between November 1-12, the survey was followed by a ¡®jan sunwai¡¯ in December to find solutions. It was conducted by local NREGA Sahayata Kendra (Manika) in collaboration with student volunteers.

The survey report highlights that under a Supreme Court order dated May, 2003, all PVTG families are entitled to Antyodaya cards (AAY). With an Antyodaya card, they get 35 kg of rice every month from the PDS.

In Jharkhand, PVTG families are also entitled to a pension of Rs 600 per month - if not as an old age, widow or disability pension, then under the Jharkhand government¡¯s special pension scheme for PVTGs.

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However, Jharkhand¡¯s welfare minister Louis Marandi told TOI that she was hearing about this survey for the first time. ¡°I will immediately issue directions to the concerned district collector and call for a report within a week,¡± she said on Monday.

Pointing that he too was unware of the survey, food and supply minister Saryu Rai said that implementation of schemes were well on course but there can be shortcomings. ¡°I am willing to sit across the table with those who have done the survey to understand their data and act on it if there are any gaps,¡± he asserted.

However, the survey found that 41% of of survey households did not receive any pension. ¡°While most of the survey households (84%) had an AAY card, there were 24 households that did not have one. Many are recently married couples, with or without children,¡± it is stated.

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It was also found that 42% of all respondents mentioned that they had to face at least one Aadhaar- related problem. The case of one Sunita Devi of Salaiya village in Satbarwa block is shared.

When she went seeking admission for her son Tinku Parhaiya, the teacher asked for an Aadhaar as a must. Lack of one led to denial of admission. This despite the UIDAI circular of September 5, 2018 which makes it clear that no one can be denied admission for lack of an Aadhaar.

From the same block, one elderly widow Sukni Devi was denied an Aadhaar by the enrolment operator as she is blind and getting her iris impression for the biometrics will not be possible.

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When the survey teams met her, she told them that she stopped receiving her pension about a year ago. The UIDAI circulars of October 24, and December 19, 2017 pertaining to ¡°exception handling¡± clearly lay down alternative course of action in such circumstances.

Researcher Anmol Somanchi who has been associated with the survey team said that they reached out to Unique Identification Authority of India and other district and state authorities responsible for the grievances. The government officials were also present at the ¡®jan sunwai¡¯ to take up complaints and find solutions.