Malnutrition, gender discrimination, lack of landholdings and education & declining forest produce major concerns
Photo: Ruskan Bose / CSE The Adivasis of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, two states in the heart of India that are home to significant tribal populations, are able to live with dignity in spite of their incomes being much lower than the national average. The reason: government interventions like the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Food subsidy through PDS has reduced the stress that Adivasi households would have faced due to lower income, according to a new report Status of Adivasi Livelihoods Report 2022 released by the non-profit PRADAN in a webinar on January 11, 2024.
In Madhya Pradesh, 51 per cent of Adivasi, 63 per cent non-Adivasi, and 50 per cent of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) villages have PDS outlets. In Chhattisgarh, the figures are 63 per cent, 88 per cent, and 36 per cent, according to the report.
“…government interventions to help the Adivasi communities lead a desirable dignified life have proved beneficial in more than one aspect … In Chhattisgarh, the food and other items consumed by an Adivasi household in a year have a market price of almost Rs 18,000. Only around 13 per cent of this amount is spent by households to procure those goods. The rest 87 per cent of the amount, the subsidy given by the government, contributes significantly to reducing the income stress of the households,” a statement by PRADAN noted.
An Adivasi household in Madhya Pradesh also procures goods from PDS worth Rs 10,000 market price annually, spending only 22 per cent of the amount to procure them.
In terms of road connectivity, 78 per cent Adivasi, 79 per cent non-Adivasi, and 80 per cent PVTG villages are linked to block headquarters by all-weather roads in Madhya Pradesh. In Chhattisgarh, the corresponding figures are 80 per cent, 100 per cent, and 82 per cent.
About 42 per cent of Adivasi, 63 per cent non-Adivasi, and 80 per cent of PVTG villages in Madhya Pradesh are linked to block headquarters by public transport. For Chhattisgarh, the figures are 30 per cent, 40 per cent, and 9 per cent respectively.
PRADAN had come out with a similar report, Status of Adivasi Livelihoods Report 2021 (SAL Report 2021), where it had covered the states of Jharkhand and Odisha.
The aim of the SAL reports is to understand the status of livelihoods of Scheduled Tribes from India’s central belt.
The SAL Report 2022 is based on a household survey covering a sample of 6,019 households. Of these, 4,745 were Adivasi, 393 were PVTG, and the rest 881 were non-Adivasi households from the same region.
Along with this, 50 focus group discussions of different sections of villagers and 28 interviews of persons closely associated with and knowledgeable about Adivasi issues were also conducted.
The report revealed that the average annual income for Adivasi households in Madhya Pradesh was Rs 73,900 and in Chhattisgarh was Rs 53,610, which is much less than the national average annual income of Rs 122,610 per agricultural household during the agricultural year 2018-19 as shown in the National Sample Survey report No 587 -77/33.1/1.
Also, in Madhya Pradesh, 32 per cent of Adivasi households, 27 per cent of non-Adivasi households, and 61 per cent of PVTG households reported being severely food insecure.
In Chhattisgarh, 27 per cent of Adivasi households, 42 per cent of non-Adivasi households, and 29 per cent of PVTG households reported being severely food insecure.
The average landholding of Adivasi and PVTG households in Madhya Pradesh is 3.9 and 4.4 acres respectively. For Chhattisgarh, the figures are 3.2 and 3 acres respectively.
Interestingly, the areas of Madhya Pradesh’s west, dominated by the Bhil community (which overlaps into neighbouring Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra), had the highest average household income among both Adivasi and non-Adivasi households. It was higher than other regions of the state by 1.5 times.
The Average Per Capita Income of Adivasi households in the Bhil region was Rs 24,571. The same for other regions of MP ranges between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000.
The Bhil region also had the highest dietary diversity (81 per cent for Adivasis and 93 per cent for non-Adivasis).
But all is not well. Head circumference is one of the indicators of malnutrition among children below 5 years. Malnutrition among children below 5 years in both states was found to be:
The report also highlighted some factors that influence livelihoods of households. A significant number of Adivasi households lack basic reading and writing skills.
Many Adivasi households are either landless or own small land holdings. Few Adivasi households have irrigated lands. Declining forest resources means income from forest produce gathering activities is relatively low in both states.
Adivasi women enjoy more autonomy than their non-Adivasi counterparts. But the workload of doing household chores and livelihood activities is mostly borne by Adivasi women.
Gender discrimination remains alive in decision making practices and also customary practices.
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