The Orissa high court has asked the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to provide education and mid-day meals to the children of slum dwellers, relocated recently.
The bench of chief justice V Gopalagowda and justice Indrajit Mohanty asked the civic body yesterday to arrange for books, teachers, mid-day meal and a place to study near the place of stay of these children.
More than 150 families of Maa Mangala slum who were evicted from near the SCB Medical College and Hospital here on July 4 are now relocated at Hadia Patha, an island inside river Mahanadi, following an HC order.
Not only are the evictees being provided with temporary shelter, they are also being provided with free meals by the district administration as per the court's order.
However, when it was brought to the notice of the HC that over 115 students of the slum have not gone to school and their studies were affected ever since they were displaced, the court took cognisance of it.
The court, however, gave a relief to the local administration when it was pleaded that the Orissa Relief Code does not allow the district administration to provide free food to the evictees for such a long period.
Henceforth, the state government would provide free food to the evictees till the next hearing of the case, the bench ordered. The case has been adjourned to August 4.
The state government was also asked by the HC to provide work to the slum dwellers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) until further orders.
It was reported that following their displacement, the slum dwellers were unable to get any work at their new settlement.
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