NGOs oppose Aadhaar-based universalisation of child development services

The NGOs said that by making Aadhaar mandatory for the move, the government is creating another layer of exclusion in the programme

Barely a week after the women and child development ministry announced the universalisation of the take home ration under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, several NGOs affiliated to the Right to Food campaign have written to the secretary of the ministry asking him to rethink the move.

The NGOs said that by making Aadhaar mandatory for the move, and by linking Aadhaar to ICDS, the government is creating another layer of exclusion in a programme that is supposed to be universal.

On the sidelines of a zonal meet at Gujarat’s Kevadia, senior ministry officials said that the government is working on making the benefits of the ICDS programme accessible anywhere in the country on the basis of Aadhaar cards.

Children between the age of 6 months to 6 years, and pregnant women and lactating mothers will be able to access nutritionary benefits like hot cooked meals and take home ration even when the move states. Officials said the move is to help migrant workers when they move from town to town, to avert the problems that arose during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Now, several NGOs part of the Right To Food campaign have written to the WCD secretary asking him to reconsider. They contend that in several cases, courts have held that these sets of beneficiaries are entitled to all the services of the ICDS.

In the letter, they wrote that this includes the 'Right to Food case' (PUCL vs Union of India & Ors., CWP 196/2001) where the Supreme Court stated that every child under six years of age, every pregnant and lactating woman and every adolescent girl is entitled to all services of the ICDS.

In addition to that, supplementary nutrition through the Anganwadi centres, is a legal entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and any place with more than 40 children can demand an Anganwadi centre.

“Towards meeting these obligations, the services of ICDS must be accessible to the target groups without any mandatory requirements like residence proof, Aadhaar etc,” the letter states. “By linking aadhaar to ICDS, the government is only creating another layer of exclusion in a programme that is supposed to be universal.”

Signatories of the letter include Kavita Srivastava of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Anjali Bhardwaj of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Olivia of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), and Anuradha Talwar of the Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (PBKMS).

The signatories cited issues such as errors in biometric authentication, network problems, faulty aadhaar-seeding have crept up in the PDS scheme where the Aadhaar is mandatory. Aadhaar saturation among children below five years is less than 35%, they contend.