Jharkhand : institutional arrangement for TSC Implementation

Jharkhand comprises 22 mostly hilly districts. It has a comparatively small population; 26.8 million. However, it has larger proportion of marginalized communities. Of this, some 36 percent are either scheduled tribe (28 percent) or scheduled caste (8 percent) as compared to total 16 percent in Bihar). 112 of the 222 blocks in the state are predominantly tribal. Over 60 percent of the total population is classified as below poverty line (almost 80 percent in Chatra district), based on an assessment of daily calorie intake. The great majority of these people are agricultural laborers and marginal farmers. Jharkhand has an infant mortality rate of 49 per 1000 live births down from the 71 reported. Over half the children under the age of three are moderately or severely underweight. 49 per cent are stunted (i.e. low height for age), a reflection of chronic malnutrition. Prevalence of diarrhoea is 21 percent. Of the State’s 4.2 million children of school going age, over 30 percent are not enrolled. Over half those who do attend, drop out before completing their primary education (grade V). Approximately 20 percent of primary and upper primary schools require drinking water facilities, whilst 79 percent of schools still require sanitation facilities for girls. [authors abstract]