National Human Rights Commission (‘NHRC’): While dealing with a petition highlighting irregular food grain deliveries under the CM’s Anna Bhagya Scheme to tribal families in the villages of Thekane Nagamalai in Male Mahadeshwara Hills (‘MM Hills’) due to poor road connectivity, the commission directed the Deputy Commissioner (‘DC’) of Chamarajanagar, Karnataka, to ensure proper road access for the betterment of local villagers. NHRC further directed that the repairs must be completed within eight weeks, and an Action Task Report is to be submitted for record.
The matter was brought before the NHRC drawing attention to the newspaper article of The New Indian Express published on 13-07-2023, which reported that around 50 families on the hills depended upon locally available food grains for their survival. It was complained that the benefits of CM’s ambitious Anna Bhagya Scheme were not reaching the tribal families in MM Hills due to poor road connectivity. Further, the only road which was 10 km from Pudur to Nagamale was in a pathetic situation. And due to this, truck drivers refused to move food grains and other items to the village under various government schemes.
On 11-08-2023, the Commission directed the DC, Chamarajanagar to submit an Action Taken Report within four weeks. The commission received a response from the DC on 29-11-2023, which said that the villages of Thekane Nagamalai were receiving ration regularly, however, during the months of July and August 2023, during the monsoon season, the roads were completely damaged and reaching the village in a vehicle was nearly impossible. Despite such conditions, a lot of risk was taken to distribute the food grains, but the roads were in a very bad shape and inaccessible as it had become accident prone, because of which even other amenities could not be provided to these villages.
The report further said that Tahsildar Hanur Taluk had written to the Assistant Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department of the MM Hills to immediately take up the repairment of roads.
The Commission considered the report on 08-12-2023 and directed the DC to ensure proper road access for the betterment of local villagers and further directed that the repairs must be completed within eight weeks, and an Action Task Report was to be submitted for record.
The case was closed with the direction to the DC to take further necessary action as per the directions of the Commission.
[Case No. 735/10/25/2023, Order Dated: 08-12-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Complainant- Y. Balachander Reddy, Advocate.
