HC asks government to place status report on Anganwadies

Mumbai, Jan 15 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to submit a status report on additional Anganwadies to be set up in Melghat and Dharni areas of Amravati District, where malnutrition related deaths of tribal children were reportedly on the rise again.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice J P Deodhar, was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Dr Rajendra Burma, alleging that state government has not complied with any orders of the high court and tribal children continued to die in the Melghat region due to malnutrition.

After central assurance of providing whatever amount of money required to set up new additional Anganwadies and Balwadies in malnutrition affected tribal region, the State government had made a statement in court that nearly 850 new Anganwadies and Balwadies would be opened in Melghat region. But, Dr Burma's counsel Advocate Jugalkishor Gilda today pointed out that no such proposal was forwarded by the state to the Centre.

Demanding that the Socio-political report over the region, submitted by a Committee headed by former tribal welfare minister Surupsing Naik, be made public, Gilda alleged that the state was sitting on the report and hiding it from public. He also informed that according to state statistics more than 23,600 tribal children from Melghat region were malnourished and more than 4000 of them were in grade III and IV of malnutrition.

UNI XR OBB SY RN1859