NEW DELHI: A shadow report evaluating India's progress against the targets laid down by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted by 189 countries five years ago, was released on Monday by "Wada Na Todo Abhiyan", a coalition of citizens groups that is monitoring the Indian government's commitment to the MDG framework and the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP).

The report, the result of focus group discussions held in 1541 villages across 13 states, says that though government figures estimate that poverty levels came down form 37 per cent in 1993-94 to 27 per cent in 1999-2000, the report points out that in contrast, the calorie intake for the year 1993-1994 showed that nearly seventy per cent of the rural population was below the poverty line.

Saying that India's record in the field of education has been poor, the report says that of the approximately 200 million children in the age group of 6 to 14 years, only 120 million were in schools and net attendance in the primary level was only 66 per cent of enrolment. The report says that there has been a systematic corrosion of the concept of universal heathcare, which is evident from selected and targeted programme-based health care policy limited to family planning, immunisation and selected disease surveillance, and burgeoning, market and profit oriented medical enterprises in the country.

According to the report, though the government claims that 98 per cent of the rural population is being provided with drinking water, the reality on the ground is that, due to privatisation of water, a majority of the population is struggling to get safe drinking water.

The report points out that there are 80 forms of untouchability practices in both the public and private spheres reported against Dalits in India.

Pointing out that at present less than one per cent of the country's budgetary allocation has been made for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the report asks for an increase in budgetary allocation for in proportion to their population.

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