JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Minister for Tribal Area Development, Kanakmal Katara, has strongly refuted the claim made by a New Delhi-based non-Government organisation that 99 per cent of the Adivasi households in southern parts of the State were facing chronic hunger. Mr. Katara said the claim, made on the basis of a purported survey, was "false and misleading''.

The Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) had reported in its survey research -- the report of which was released by the noted social scientist, Ashis Nandy, on October 14 -- that 99 per cent of the tribal households in Udaipur and Dungarpur districts were facing one or another level of hunger and food insecurity. Out of the 500 sample Adivasi households surveyed in the two districts, not a single had secured two square meals for the whole previous year.

Mr. Katara disputed the findings of the survey during his visit to Sagwara town in Dungarpur district over the week-end and affirmed that no situation of chronic hunger was prevailing in any part of the State with the Department of Women and Child Development regularly supplying nutritious food to the targeted population.

"Regular distribution of nutritious diet in all districts across the State is continuing and there is no question of hunger or starvation prevailing anywhere,'' said Mr. Katara. He termed the survey baseless and pointed out that the purported finding of not a single Adivasi household having secured two square meals during the previous year could not be justified by any measure.

The Minister said the tribal population in southern Rajasthan had faced no scarcity of food during the past few years with the good monsoon rains and the State Government launching regular drought relief works for them. "I spend at least a fortnight every month in the tribal-dominated areas and have never come across with the situation of chronic hunger,'' he said.

While the CEFS had carried out the field survey in Udaipur and Dungarpur during March to June 2004, nearly 48 persons had died of hunger and disease in 40 villages in Baran district during mid-July to mid-September this year. The Director of CEFS, Parshuram Rai, stated that 99 per cent of the Adivasi households had lived with one or another level of endemic hunger and food insecurity during the whole previous year.

The survey findings conformed to another recent investigation that had attributed the death of tribals in Baran district to the chronic energy deficiency leading to weakness of the body constitution and decline in the immunity levels of the local population. The probe was carried out by a team led by the State Advisor to the Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court in right to food matter.

According to the survey research, an overwhelming 90.6 per cent of the tribal households felt that their food security had weakened during last 25 years.

Besides, 54.9 per cent of the respondents identified decline in availability of minor forest produce due to deforestation and degradation of forests as the biggest reason for weakening of their food security.

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