The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to explain the causes leading to the death of a 75-year-old Dalit woman, who allegedly succumbed due to hunger.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachoor and Justice Dilip Gupta passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation. The court also sought information into the failures of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in ensuring regular supply of food grains to the needy families and the wrong identification of poor families in issuing BPL cards.
The petitioners, four law interns working with the Human Right Law Network, Allahabad, Deeksha Dwivedi, Anuj Tiwari, Kaustubh Rai and Pranav Singh Rathore constituted a fact finding team into the woman's death.
The Dalit woman was allegedly not being provided due food grains from the Fair Price Shop, their report found.
Chameli Devi was unable to earn her wages as agricultural labourer or under the MNREGA due to her frail health. She was forced to live under the open sky, with only a thin plastic sheet for cover.
A Government Order makes the Gram Pradhan, Lekhpal and Block Development Officer bound to provide urgent monitory assistance of Rs. 1000 to people facing malnutrition and hunger.
The team also found that BPL cards were not issued to the poor and deserving families to enable them to get sufficient food grains on subsidized rate. The next hearing is after three weeks.
