Thanks to the Bombay High Court, interventions to tackle the decades-long problem of malnutrition among children in the Melghat area of eastern Maharashtra could be better managed. The court has directed the State government to track children and mothers using a management information system (MIS).
The courts directive came on a petition filed on July 20 by an Amravati-based NGO, Khoj, regarding the abysmal conditions in the Melghat region that were resulting in chronic malnutrition and fatalities (see Frontline, September 23, 2005).The petitioner, Purnima Upadhyay of the NGO, contended that there was no government information available in the public domain on the extent and status of malnutrition in Melghat.
Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and R.D. Dhanuka said there was a need for proper information and directed the State government to make short- and long-term plans to tackle the problem. The court said, We find considerable merit in the grievance which has been made in this regard. We are of the view that steps should be taken by the State government under the auspices of the Collector, Amravati, to activate a system-based tracking of children and mothers in Melghat. The judges said the implementation of the plan should commence on September 17.
Using Health Department statistics, Purnima Upadhyay said that as of June 2012 there were 3,431 and 561 children afflicted with moderately acute and severely acute malnutrition respectively. Children who were moderately underweight and severely underweight numbered 10,047 and 3,798 respectively. In the space of three months between April and June, there were 81 deaths, 42 stillbirths and four cases of maternal mortality. Though malnutrition has been raging uncontrolled for decades, she said, the official figures for the total number of malnourished children for the last two years remained at 14,000.
The petition also dealt with the poor emergency services, saying that the 22 flying squads of the district administration did not have any vehicles at their disposal. These squads are deputed annually from May to October, when the weather and terrain make Melghat inaccessible and leave the population more vulnerable because of inadequate supplies and services.
The court directed the State government and the Amravati Collector to make vehicles available within a week. Currently, fresh tenders have been invited for the supply of vehicles on hire for the squads, but the court has insisted that emergencies have to be dealt with even during the tendering process.
Lyla BavadamCOMMents
COMMents
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