The State government told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that they are willing to appoint the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to study malnutrition in the Melghat region.
A Division Bench of Justices Abhay Oka and M.S. Sonak was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations (PILs) about an increase in malnutrition cases in the interiors of Maharashtra, especially Melghat. One of the PILs highlights that several posts of anaesthetists, gynaecologists and paediatricians are vacant, which adds to the problem.
The principal secretary of the Public Health Department said in court that certain recommendations of the United Nations Children’s Fund report of 2015 pertaining to Melghat have been implemented. The court, in turn, said a scientific study needs to be conducted to know the requirement of doctors, specialists and infrastructure in hospitals in Melghat.
Advocate Neha Bhide, appearing for the government, said the State will soon send a brief to TISS to acquaint them of the situation in Melghat, and file an affidavit on this. The matter will be heard on October 4.
In the last hearing, the court had said, “We need an independent scientific study to be carried out by an expert agency. Institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology or TISS could be appointed and their expert team could visit the places and understand the issue — health and nutrition wise — and suggest what could be done.”
A few weeks ago, the State government had filed an affidavit that read, “A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the collector with powers to appoint regular medical officers. Medical officers are paid hardship allowances under the National Health Mission if they stay at a remote health facility such as Gadchiroli and Melghat. Higher pay scale is given to doctors if they work in Naxal-affected areas and medical officers are given an additional mark of 10% per year for post-graduate admission if they work in designated ‘difficult’ areas.”
