# 22 tribal children die of malnutrition in MP, Congress seeks probe 2026-08-24T13:43:19+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The deaths of 22 tribal children from the Baiga community in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh due to malnutrition have sparked a political row. The Congress has demanded a special committee to investigate the deaths and sought details of funds allocated for nutrition in tribal blocks between 2020 and 2025. Madhya Pradesh Adivasi Congress president Vikrant Bhuria alleged that nutritional meal delivery to homes has been stopped for six months, the nearest health centre is 20 km away, and land titles under the Forest Rights Act have been cancelled. The state government has announced compensation of Rs 20,000 per family, which Bhuria called inadequate, asking if a tribal life is worth only that amount. Of 1,149 children under six screened at 28 Anganwadi centres in July, 213 were moderately underweight and 18 severely underweight. Officials said 125 children have recovered and been discharged. The Sarv Adivasi Samaj has demanded Rs 1 crore compensation per family and action against officials. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Baiga community is a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in central India, historically among the most marginalised. Malnutrition deaths in this community have been reported for years, but large-scale screening data from Anganwadis is rare. The 28 centres in Balaghat that screened 1,149 children suggest a coverage gap: if many villages have no centre or irregular visits, the true undernutrition count could be higher. The key question is whether the state's nutrition schemes reach PVTGs at all. The next step is the Assembly response to Bhuria's budget query, which will reveal if funds were allocated but unspent, or never budgeted. ## Coverage - nationalheraldindia.com Leads with opposition allegations, foregrounds Congress demands and activist protests, and quotes only criticism of government compensation and programme lapses This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: anganwadi, Baiga community, Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, malnutrition, Vikrant Bhuria Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/22-tribal-children-die-of-malnutrition-in-mp-congress-seeks-probe/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/22-tribal-children-die-of-malnutrition-in-mp-congress-seeks-probe/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/