The public health department has appointed a high-power committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary of state, as per the directives given by the Supreme Court and after getting slammed by governor K. Sankarnarayanan for deaths due to malnutrition in the state. The government resolution (GR) in this regard was issued a day before Independence Day.
The committee’s agenda will be to review and monitor the schemes, which are being implemented in tribal districts to tackle the problem of malnutrition. These schemes include financial support for pregnant women, special attention to underweight children, supplying nutritious food to mothers and children, etc. The committee will also co-ordinate between various government departments to implement schemes more effectively and will give suggestions to the government regarding newer problems faced while implementing the schemes.
Every year, hundreds of children die due to malnutrition in tribal belts such as Melghat of the Amravati district and Jawhar-Mokhada in the Thane district. “The first case was found in 1993. After that, the government has been spending hundreds of crores of rupees every year to address the issue. However, there has not been much success,” said an official from the public health department.
A special leave petition (No. 3278/2010) was filed by KHOJ, an NGO against state government in the Supreme Court. While hearing the petition, the SC had directed the state government to appoint a core committee.
Opposition parties in both the Houses of state Legislature had raised the issue. Shiv Sena MLC Dr Deepak Sawant had demanded that the government monitor the schemes implemented for tribals.
Dr Sawant welcomed the decision. However, he pointed out that there was no system to fix responsibility for a malnutrition death. “Better coordination is needed. The responsibility should also be fixed on a particular authority. Otherwise, nobody takes responsibility and the blame game continues when any death happens,” Dr Sawant said.