Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the principal secretaries of public health, women and health, tribal development, information technology and forest departments and the Directorate of Medical Education & Research to be present in court to discuss issues related to malnutrition in Maharashtra.
A division bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and Nutan Sardessai was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations (PIL) about the increase in malnutrition cases in the State. One of the PILs also highlights the vacancies in posts of anaesthesiologists, gynaecologists and paediatricians, which also adds to the problem.
The court has directed all the principal secretaries and secretaries of the departments concerned to meet every 15 days and look into the implementation of schemes introduced for the welfare of tribal people.
The government filed an affidavit informing the court that it was considering appointing doctors and other experts in tribal areas. It also said they are looking into the budgetary expenditures for tribals and would take steps to improve telecommunication in these areas. The matter was adjourned till January 27, when all the principal secretaries will be in court to discuss the issue of malnutrition.
Earlier, the court looked into a report by the State Women and Child Development Department, which showed that on an average, 500 children die in Melghat every year in a population of three lakh. In 2013-14, the number rose to 600 while in 2014-15, 426 children died in just two blocks of Melghat. Replies to queris under the Right to Information Act have revealed that 283 children have died in Melghat due to malnutrition in 2015-16, and around 17,000 in the entire State.
