Bombay HC asks government to show more urgency on eradicating malnutrition from state

Mumbai: A day after the state government submitted an affidavit in the Bombay high court regarding the steps being taken to eradicate malnutrition in tribal areas, the petitioners pointed out certain lacunae in the action plan. The court directed the principal secretaries of the departments mentioned as part of the government’s action plan to show more urgency about implementing the plan and improve coordination among themselves.

The court added that the ministers concerned also needed to play a proactive role, and directed the principal secretaries to be present in court along with certain NGOs and petitioners for the next hearing.

On Monday, following directions from a division bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and Nutan Sardessai, the state had filed its reply regarding the setting up of various facilities in tribal areas, especially in the Melghat region, which has witnessed a large number of malnutrition-related deaths. The state also said that it had set up various committees to address the issues, and these met regularly to discuss the same.

On Tuesday, however, the petitioners submitted their objections stating that the meetings that the committees held only resulted in discussions and in no action. The short-term and long-term measures arrived at in the meetings were ad hoc and the data provided by the state had discrepancies, the petitioners added. Thousands of children are still being deprived of care and support and the situation is bound to get alarming unless time-bound action is enforced, they further said.

Accepting the objections of the petitioners, the bench said that while the state had set up many committees to address the issue, the ministers needed to play a more proactive role in getting the schemes implemented.