ગુજરાતી
English
Ahmedabad, May 9, 2026
BJP governments are rendering the children born in Gujarat frail and vulnerable. They are weakening an entire generation.
In the years 2024–25, a staggering 400,000 children were found to be severely malnourished. Their lives are being ruined. Their parents are unable to provide them with even a single full meal a day.
In a Gujarat that is growing increasingly impoverished, children from poor families are being born weak.
They are being born severely malnourished.
When this government report was released, the people of Gujarat were deeply distressed.
In 2012, during the election campaign, the BJP had announced that, over a span of 10 years, they had constructed 325,000 houses worth ₹120 million.
They claimed to have provided assistance to 1.1 million families for building their homes.
Thus, had homes actually been built for 1.4 to 1.5 million families, the poverty they face today would not exist.
Consequently, the Gujarat of 2026—a state now impoverished and debilitated by poor nutrition—would not have come to be.
In 2012, another promise was made: that 5 million houses would be built in Gujarat within five years.
Yet, over the course of 14 years, only 1 million houses were actually constructed.
Over a decade, Modi claimed to have distributed ₹100 billion through 780 “Garib Kalyan Melas” (Poor Welfare Fairs); however, instead of diminishing, the scourge of poverty and malnutrition has only intensified.
Four of the country’s top 10 most malnourished districts are located in Gujarat; with 40% of children being underweight, the government stands accused of failure.
In Gujarat, 25.1% of children are malnourished, and 79% suffer from anemia.
39% of children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth (low height). 25.1% of children are underweight relative to their height.
4% of children are overweight or obese.
79.7 percent of children suffer from anemia.
Across the state, 79.7 percent of children under the age of five are afflicted with anemia. The prevalence of anemia is 65 percent among women aged 15 to 49, and 26.6 percent among men.
In Gujarat, the prevalence of malnutrition and anemia among children exceeds the national average.
Prevalence (in percentage) of stunting (low height-for-age), wasting (low weight-for-height), and overweight (high weight-for-height) among children under five years of age.
In 20 districts, 257,000 children have fallen victim to malnutrition.
211,000 children are underweight.
45,634 children are severely underweight.
The situation regarding malnutrition has become even more critical in tribal and backward regions.
In Chhota Udaipur district, a total of ₹100 crore will be spent; specifically, ₹28.65 crore will be spent in the year 2024–25, and ₹25.49 crore in 2025–26.
In Narmada district, ₹19.79 crore will be spent in the year 2024–25, and ₹16.67 crore in 2025–26. (Google translation from Gujarati)
