Ranchi: A survey by a conglomeration of rights activists has found that the pressures of digital compliance, alleged administrative negligence and other hurdles are severely affecting efficient implementation of nutrition related schemes at anganwadi centres in the state.The survey conducted by the Right to Food Campaign (RTFC), Jharkhand, in 106 anganwadis under 15 blocks across 9 districts between Nov and Dec last year revealed that digital systems like nutrition trackers, e-KYC and face recognition systems (FRS) have complicated the work of health workers and have deprived beneficiaries of services. The findings were released on Saturday.Addressing the media, activist and economist Jean Drèze said that several anganwadi sevikas are living in fear of meeting digital targets to save their jobs.“This fear and conflict are not a matter of one day but has become an everyday reality — one that the central govt has created through the Poshan tracker. The situation has worsened in recent times with many sevikas burdened with the heavy workload of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as booth level officers (BLOs), for a nominal honorarium,” said Drèze.Taramani Sahu, another food activist, demanded the govt to take concrete steps as it will directly impact the nutrition and health of women and children. “The objective of the survey was to ascertain the actual status of the nutrition programmes and how the digital systems such as e-KYC and face recognition system (FRS) are functioning, and challenges on the ground,” she said.RTFC said that the egg distribution scheme is among those affected.“State rules mandate that eggs be provided six days a week, but only 43% of sevikas acknowledged that they are distributing eggs on all days. The govt pays Rs 6 per egg, while market prices are considerably higher. Most sevikas purchase eggs using their own money and wait months for reimbursement. Due to delays of 2 to 3 months or more, many centres have stopped distributing eggs. However, it is significant that 97% of sevikas stated that children’s attendance increases when eggs are provided,” said Sahu.At the time of the survey, only 56.1% of beneficiaries had completed e-KYC, whereas the Centre’s target was 100% coverage by July 1, 2025. “Around 53% of sevikas reported that e-KYC takes more than 10 minutes or the process fails. Around 92% of sevikas complained of OTP delays. Due to outdated biometrics or incorrect details in Aadhaar, many eligible women and children are being deprived of anganwadi services,” RTFC said in a statement.The FRS situation is concerning as well. “Around 86% of sevikas complained of weak network connectivity, 41.5% reported camera’s frequent failure to recognise faces and so on,” it said.“According to information obtained through RTI, 575 villages in Jharkhand are still without any mobile network or internet facility — and these are the very areas where the need for nutrition is greatest,” it added.An official of the social welfare department said, “We are yet to go through the survey findings to make any comment.”
