Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh |A seven-month pregnant woman is forced to travel 10 km on foot from her village, Pipilya, to the block collectorate office in Rajgarh. She demands compensation as she is legally entitled to after a failed sterilization surgery.
Sugan Bai was in the fields, watering crops alongside her husband and two young children, one aged five, the other three.
Speaking softly, the woman said, “We already had two children, so I opted for sterilization in 2022. But in 2025, it failed, and now I am seven months pregnant. I had submitted all the documents nearly two months ago. When nothing happened, I had no option but to walk to the collectorate.”
Under the Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (FPIS), compensation for a sterilization failure is ₹60,000 in recent programme documents, double the earlier ₹30,000.
Her husband has been suffering from mental illness, further compounding the family’s vulnerability.
A Gruelling Struggle to File a Complaint
On December 2, accompanied by her elderly mother-in-law, the woman walked all the way to the Rajgarh Collectorate for a public grievance hearing. She was there to demand her rightful compensation.
With no public transport available from her village, the only option left was to walk. Her mother-in-law later explained their hardship, “There is no bus service from our village. We don’t have any vehicles. That’s why we have to walk every time.”
At the collectorate, she submitted a written application addressed to the District Collector, seeking compensation for the failed sterilization.
The acknowledgment receipt noted that the matter had been forwarded to the District Hospital Civil Surgeon for further processing.
Soon, she received a call from a health department employee who reportedly asked her to avoid “complaining.” Her mother-in-law explained that they are not complaining; they simply want fair compensation.
Walking Again, a Week Later
When no update came even after a week, the woman once again set out on foot with her mother-in-law on December 9 to attend another public hearing. The long walk caused delays, and by the time they reached the collectorate, the hearing was over. She could not meet the Collector.
The woman sat quietly outside the office, clutching her documents.
At this point, the Ground Report team crossed paths with the women. The team introduced her to the hospital’s Resident Medical Officer, Dr. Amit Koli, who patiently listened to her ordeal. He directed her to the CMHO (Chief Medical and Health Officer) office.
There, she met Ramkanya Sisodia, the Assistant Statistical Officer responsible for handling sterilization failure cases. Sisodia confirmed that the woman’s case was eligible for compensation.
“Her case falls under the eligible category and has been reopened. As soon as the block office completes the pending documents, it will be re-uploaded. I have given her my phone number so she doesn’t have to make repeated trips,” she said.
She further clarified that the woman had submitted her claim within the mandatory 90-day period. The verification from the Block Medical Officer (BMO) was required.
Minor discrepancies often lead to cases being reopened, and it is the block office’s responsibility to resolve them, Sisodia explained.
Ms. Sisodia added that around ten similar cases involving women beneficiaries had been reopened and officially emailed to the state authorities for resolution.
A Shocking Administrative Lapse
One of the most disturbing revelations was that the woman’s file had not even been printed or placed in the pending cases folder. Had the Ground Report team not intervened, she might have been dismissed like many other beneficiaries.
Later that Wednesday, the Ground Report team informed Girish Kumar Mishra, the District Collector of Rajgarh, about the entire matter. He assured prompt action, “If the woman is eligible, she will definitely receive help. Those found responsible for negligence will face action.”
And, Dr. Shobha Patel, the district’s Chief Medical and Health Officer, was also present at the meeting.
3,252 failure claims were received in 2020-21, with the highest number of failures reported by Madhya Pradesh (910), followed by Rajasthan (502), as per the National Family Health Survey.
More recent official statewide figures for 2024–25 are not yet available in public reports. Though the same annual report claims that the failure has declined.
Important to include, “total sterilization deaths in 2020-21 were 51, with Bihar reporting the highest number of sterilization deaths (9), followed by Maharashtra (8) and Madhya Pradesh (8),” the same document stated.
According to government rules, the woman had completed all formalities and submitted her claim within the stipulated 90 days. Yet, administrative negligence and systemic indifference forced her to undertake two exhausting 10-kilometre walks, while pregnant, to seek justice.
Her story is not just about a failed medical procedure; it is a sobering reminder of how governance gaps disproportionately burden the poorest, especially rural women, who must fight every step of the way simply to be heard.
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