The Bombay High Court has warned the Maharashtra government of stern action if children in the tribal belt of Melghat continue to die due to malnutrition.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2007. It highlighted that the high number of deaths of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the state’s tribal belt of Melghat in Amravati district were because of malnutrition. The petitioner informed the court that in the last one year, a total of 73 children under the age of six have died in the region due to malnutrition.
Also Read: Severely malnourished under-5 children consumed by hunger in the pandemic
Activist Bandu Sane informed the court yesterday on August 24 that between May 2020 to June this year, 70 children have died and there have been 257 child deaths in the past two years and over 11,000 children were underweight.
From April 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021, the region has seen 330 toddlers die and 168 stillbirths — this amounts to at least one death every single day, informed petitioner Sane.
Also Read: What is the cost of childhood wasting and severe acute malnutrition in India?
Advocate Neha Bhide appearing for the state informed the court that measures were being taken to address the issue. Bhide told the court that the state government did not consider the PILs as adversarial, and even one death due to malnutrition was of concern.
In response, the court said that “if your machinery is so well-equipped, then why have there been 73 incidents of children deaths due to malnutrition? From tomorrow we want the situation to be monitored by doctors (sic)”.
The court warned the secretary of health of being held responsible for any more deaths due to malnutrition. The court will hear the matter further on September 6.
“We are putting the public health department principal secretary on guard. If by September 6 (next date of hearing), we hear that there have been any more deaths then we will take a very stern view and action,” the court added.
The bench has directed the state government to submit details of how many children have died due to malnutrition in the tribal belt of the state from April 2020 to July 2021, and details about doctors sent to the public health centres in those areas.
The court was informed that due to lack of proper medical facilities in Melghat, there was an estimation that 900 children could die due to malnutrition. Activist Sane pointed out that children and expecting mothers not only from Melghat, but 11 other sensitive tribal areas such as Nandurbar and Palghar, were suffering due to insufficient medical aid.
Meanwhile, the court was informed that the situation in the tribal belt was of grave concern as only doctors with Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine, and Surgery (BAMS) qualifications were assigned to the region by the state government and there were no paediatricians or gynaecologists.
The court has directed the Maharashtra government to ensure that doctors monitor the tribal areas regularly.
