Orissa High Court: While hearing a Writ Petition wherein, the plight of young children suffering from chronic malnutrition, living under semistarvation and prolonged hunger was highlighted, the Division Bench of S. Muralidhar (CJ) and G. Satapathy, J., directed the Government of Odisha to draw an action plan to achieve the target for complete absence of severely and acutely malnourished (SAM) children and a reduction by more than half of moderately acutely malnourished children (MAM) in the State of Odisha by the end of 2023.
Background
In the matter at hand, a petition was filed highlighting the plight of very young children, many of them belonging to the scheduled tribes, in the Danagadi Block and mostly from villages in Jajpur District, who are suffering from chronic malnutrition, living under semistarvation and prolonged hunger. This makes then vulnerable to diseases, and many have lost their lives.
It was also highlighted before the Court that in the absence of Aadhar cards, these children were completely excluded from the public distribution system and other welfare Schemes. It was pointed out that in Ghatisahi village only 160, out of 309 villagers have Aadhar cards and therefore, the villagers were unable to get the monthly quotas from the public distribution system.
The Court in its previous Order had said that it was obvious that such situation requires immediate attention at the hands of the State Government as well as the Union of India. The Court had also directed the Collector, Jajpur along with the Chief District Medical Officer (‘CDMO’), Jajpur to undertake a visit to the Danagadi Block and in particular, the affected villages including village Ghatisahi and submit a report before the Court on the corrective ameliorative action taken.
Court’s Order
The Court noted that in the affidavit filed by the Collector, Jajpur, a breakup was given confirming that 4 of the 11 children were severely and acutely malnourished and 3 of the children were moderately acutely malnourished. One female child, who was suffering from cerebral palsy and secondary malnutrition had died. The remaining children were stated to be ‘normal’ children i.e., not falling within the categories of SAM or MAM.
The Court also noted that a female child was abandoned by her family and was found dead on 20-04-2023. Prior thereto, the Accredited Social health Activist (ASHA) of the area was stated to have visited the child on two dates in January and one date in February 2023. The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakrama (RBSK) team was also said to have visited her. The Court said that the finding that “as she was suffering from cerebral palsy, she could neither move nor inform the neighbours of the plight” pointed to the fact that there could be a child in need of attention, who is unable to get it despite the existence of a plethora of Schemes both at the level of the Central Government and the State Government. Further, the Court said that there could still be families and children, who were not covered by the Schemes and the fact was that these were all children in the age group of 0 to 6 years and belongs to tribal community and the poorest sections of the society.
Referring to the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD Ministry), Government of India, wherein, statistics were presented highlighting that there are approximately 36 lakh children in Odisha and 28,541 (as of April, 2023) in the SAM category and around 86,000 children could belong to the MAM category, the Court observed that the presenting statistics in terms of percentages would hide more than they reveal about the ground situation. Further, the Court said that perhaps human lives and human health should, in the present context, not be discussed in terms of percentages but by acknowledging that they are actual people. The Court also stated that “to have in Odisha in 2023 nearly 30,000 SAM and 86,000 MAM children is a cause for alarm not just for the State of Odisha but for the Government of India as well. If one were to understand the national percentages of 2.26% SAM and 4.75% MAM on a 1.8 billion population, and translate them into actual numbers, the severity of problem would become evident”.
The Court said that even in a district like Jajpur, the coverage of the population by public distribution system (‘PDS’) under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (‘NFSA’) is not ‘universal’. The expressions like ‘allocation’ and ‘vacancies’ pointed to the fact that there might be sections of the society, including the most vulnerable, who may not be covered under the PDS system. Since the distribution of nutritional supplements and rations takes place only through the PDS, there was likelihood that a child or an expectant mother in a family in need of such supplements and rations may not be receiving them.
The Court also said that that all the statistics were projected on the basis of 2011 census and not on the actual figures on the ground as of 2023. Therefore, the number of persons ‘excluded’ from the coverage of all the Schemes could be much larger than what was projected in the affidavits. The Court said that it must be ensured that the coverage under the Schemes is increased progressively year after year and that can only happen if there are systems put in place that incentivise ‘inclusion’ rather than ‘exclusion’. The failure to possess an Aadhaar Card or a mobile phone or a proper ‘identity’ paper of a particular kind can result in a child, or a family being denied the basic support in terms of food and supplements which are so essential for basic survival, therefore, the absence of these documents cannot become obstacles to availing the benefits under the Schemes.
The Court also stated that a child above six years gets excluded from the benefit of many of the Schemes, since it is presumed that a child over the age of six will be enrolled in a nearby school where such child will get a Mid-Day Meal (‘MDM’). The Court called this as just a ‘presumption’ stating that since there are statistics that show that there are a substantial number of children, and in particular girl child, who drop out of school or are not enrolled at all to begin with.
Regarding the adolescent children, the Court said that the benefit was restricted to girl child between 14 and 18. Thus, instead of increasing the coverage of the Schemes for all children in need from age 0 onwards, it appeared to the Court that specific age groups of children were ‘excluded’ from the benefit of many of the Schemes.
Thus, the Court viewed that at both the State level as well as the National level since these welfare Schemes are meant to cater to the needs of the most vulnerable and poor sections of the society, they cannot be excluded on any ground including the lack of an Aadhaar Card or a mobile phone. The Court also said that there are still several poor and vulnerable individuals, in the State of Odisha and in the country, who may not possess either of the two.
The Court noted that in Keonjhar district there were about 2,820 children in the SAM category who would require immediate attention. Therefore, the Court extended the scope of the present petition to include Keonjhar district as well. Thus, the Court directed the Collector and the CDMO, Keonjhar to undertake visits to the Blocks in Keonjhar district in the next one month to ascertain for themselves the factual position regarding children in the SAM and MAM categories. The Court also directed to identify the ‘vulnerable’ children and women just like the Collector, Jajpur has been able to identify the broader category of ‘vulnerable’ children and ‘vulnerable women’.
The Court also directed the Secretaries in the Departments of SME, WCD, Health and Family Welfare, Tribal Welfare and Food and Civil Supplies to hold a review meeting within one month from the date of Order. The Secretaries of the Odisha State Commission for Women, Odisha Food Commission and the Odisha Child Rights Commission were also directed to participate in the meeting. The Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha was directed to convene the said meeting in the next one month to draw up an action plan to achieve the target of complete absence of SAM children in Odisha and a reduction by more than half of MAM children by the end of 2023.
The Court also emphasized that PILs like the present one should not be viewed as ‘adversarial’ but as an opportunity for all to work together to find a workable solution to a problem that is acknowledged.
[Mantu Das v. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine Ori 2533, Order Dated: 18-05-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Petitioner: Advocate Afraaz Suhail;
For the Respondents: Deputy Solicitor General P.K. Parhi, CGC D.R. Bhokta, Additional Government Advocate Debakanta Mohanty.
