Failing PDS beneficiaries in Odisha

A tribal woman from Kandhamal district sits with social activists in front of the Odisha Assembly in Bhubaneswar, demanding better compensation for the family members of the three women who died in Kandhamal.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

In November, three women died after consuming gruel made of mango kernel in Kandhamal district of Odisha. The tragedy has brought issues surrounding the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, in the State into the limelight. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha is facing criticism for stalling the public distribution system (PDS) on technical grounds, leading to deprivation among marginalised communities.

In 2001 too, 24 Adivasis lost their lives in Rayagada district due to the same reason. The fact that hunger deaths are re-emerging in Odisha after more than two decades is telling.

Mandipanka village in Kandhamal, where the recent tragedy took place, is dominated by the Kandha Adivasi community. The area is plagued by poverty and deprivation with limited welfare interventions. The inhabitants primarily depend on agriculture and forest produce to eke out a living. Many men from the village also migrate to other States for employment. During the monsoon, starting from July, as livelihood options come down, people in Mandipanka, as in other remote areas of Odisha with Adivasi populations, become dependent on the PDS apart from traditional food that is stockpiled during the summer months. Traditional food items, such as gruel made from mango kernel, are consumed by Adivasis in this region during times of acute food shortage. Sometimes, due to improper storage, food items that are preserved for months become toxic for consumption.

After the BJP government took charge in June, it decided to further digitise PDS. This included making e-KYC mandatory for PDS beneficiaries, which led to delays in distribution. The people of Mandipanka claimed that they had not received their PDS rice for three months. With no other life support system and out of hunger, some families began preparing gruel from mango kernels to eat with some stored fermented rice. Unfortunately, according to officials, the food was fungus-infected. Three women died while receiving treatment.

According to statements of Odisha ministers and the district administration, the victims are to blame for their food practices and improper storage. This is despite findings that acute hunger among the Adivasis in this region compels them to resort to substitute food such as mango kernels gruel.

It is also concerning that all those who had consumed the infected gruel were women. In rural belts, women often eat inferior food within the family, due to prevailing sociocultural factors; this affects nutrition. The absence of a focused policy intervention for women in this district is particularly concerning, as about 49% of women in the age group of 15-49 years in Kandhamal are anaemic. Strengthening the capacities of women self-help groups and community health cadres to improve public service delivery, especially in such marginalised areas, could go a long way in enhancing the agency of women in managing their nutrition.

Notably, Odisha was one of the early reformers of PDS. It brought in multiple measures to minimise leakage and expand coverage. However, distribution in the most remote areas remains a significant challenge. In the case of Mandipanka, beneficiaries had to travel up to 10 kilometres to collect their PDS rice and it took a tragedy for the administration to finally set up a PDS sub-centre near the village. Timely supply of PDS food items is critical in these regions where people depend on them as their primary source of nutrition. Furthermore, the policy decision mandating that phone numbers be linked with Aadhaar for accessing welfare measures is made with the assumption that all beneficiaries have mobile phones. Many remote areas such as Mandipanka do not even have cellular coverage.

The tragedy should serve as a cautionary lesson for policymakers while making changes to critical welfare policies, as temporary withdrawal of State welfare schemes can cost lives. The idea that digitisation is the panacea for making social policy effective is flawed. Further, we need to move beyond a one-size-fits-all policy approach in key service deliveries, such as PDS. Interventions in marginalised areas require tailored approaches and regular feedback from the ground.

Subhankar Nayak is a policy researcher. X: @subhankarnayak