HC to chief secy: What steps will govt take against malnutrition?
Justice Kanade said that state apparently solved problem only at a ‘superficial level’
:The Bombay high court on Wednesday pulled up the Maharashtra government for its insensitivity towards those dying of malnutrition in tribal areas across the state.
It directed the state chief secretary to submit a report detailing the steps that the state proposes to take to curb malnutrition-related deaths and to implement the court’s previous orders on the issue.
A bench led by Justice VM Kanade also cautioned the state government, saying that in case the court found the reply to be unsatisfactory, it would be forced to “summon the secretaries of all the concerned departments to court,” and to issue “contempt notices against the state.”
Justice Kanade said that the state’s “deep slumber” at a time when children were dying of mal-
nutrition just 100 kilometres away from Mumbai was “shocking.”
He said that while the petitions seeking directions to the government to control the situation had been filed almost eight years ago, the court had passed several
orders but “unfortunately all directions had remained on paper.”
Justice Kanade further said that the affidavits filed by the government showed that the situation had been attended to only at a “superficial level.”
“We direct the chief secretary to personally look into the matter and go through the court’s order and explain to us what the state is going to do for implementation of orders and to provide wholesome and healthy food to tribal children, and also how will it monitor the progress made,” Justice Kanade said. “We hope that the state will wake up from its slumber and address the issue earnestly,” he said.
The bench was hearing PILS on increasing instances of malnutrition among tribal children.