CHANDIGARH, July 24 — Haryana has reported the highest percentage of stunted children under the age of five among northern states, with more than 23% of kids suffering from low height-for-age, as per data presented in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The figures, drawn from the Centre’s ‘Poshan Tracker’ for June 2025, were shared by Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur, in response to a question by MP Saket Gokhale.
According to the data, 23.41% of children in Haryana aged 0–5 are stunted. The state also recorded 3.83% children as wasted (low weight-for-height) and 7.85% as underweight (low weight-for-age). These indicators of malnutrition were significantly worse compared to neighbouring states — Punjab (17.14% stunted), Himachal Pradesh (19.68%), J&K (15.94%), and Ladakh (12.28%).
Chandigarh (UT) had a lower stunting rate at 22.27%, but surpassed Haryana in wasting (5.34%) and underweight (14.69%) categories.
Experts attribute Haryana’s poor nutritional performance to growing urbanisation and the rising influx of migrants. “Many migrant families in Haryana are poor and unable to access government intervention programmes for nutrition,” said Prof Aswini Kumar Nanda, a health economist and Dean at the Central University of Jammu.
The data also pointed to concerning levels of child mortality in Haryana. The Neonatal Mortality Rate (deaths of infants under 29 days per 1,000 live births) stood at 18 — higher than Punjab (12), Himachal Pradesh (12), and Jammu & Kashmir (10). Kerala had the lowest rate at 5, while Madhya Pradesh topped the list at 29.
The Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) — which measures the probability of a child dying before age five — was 31 in Haryana. This was again worse than Punjab (19), Himachal (22), and J&K (17).
The Poshan Tracker platform, used by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is designed for real-time monitoring of anganwadi centres and beneficiaries, recording data such as meal provision, growth measurements, and attendance.
Despite this infrastructure, Prof Nanda warned that structural exclusions remain. “Migrants are a vulnerable population and often fall through the cracks of coverage. Unless targeted outreach is improved, Haryana’s child health outcomes may continue to suffer,” he said.
