Petitioner NGO-Swaraj Abhiyan's advocate Prashant Bhushan said that 115 districts of 21 states have suffered from a bad drought and yet the government has done nothing to declare these districts as drought hit.
The state of Maharashtra on Tuesday faced strong criticism from the Supreme Court for its "lack of concern" and non action after 500 to 600 adivasi children died of malnutrition.
"You don't bother when children die. Your state is not taking any interest and advocates are also not taking any instructions from the government. Do you think we are wasting our time here?" asked the bench that was headed Justice Madan B Lokur, viciously attacking the state government for its irresponsibility.
"We have seen news reports that talk about children having died of malnutrition in Maharashtra. You don't bother when people die because you think it is a small figure in a country with such a large population," stated the bench, which also had Justice N V Ramana as one of its jury members.
dna in its series of reports last month has highlighted that over 600 kids have died in Maharashtra since April this year, 130 of which are from Palghar district. The reports also exposed how most tribals in districts are landless farmers, unable to afford two square meals a day due to lack of livelihood resources. Also poor implementation of child nutrition schemes, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGa), Food Security Act and healthcare facilities has led to worsening situations.
Petitioner NGO-Swaraj Abhiyan's advocate Prashant Bhushan said that 115 districts of 21 states have suffered from a bad drought and yet the government has done nothing to declare these districts as drought hit.
The court has demanded an affidavit giving detail on the issue so that it can see if its directions were violated by states including Maharashtra. It has also said that with sowing will increase by 35 lakh hectares across the country thus bringing down the drought situation and increasing production.
Central government counsel Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha said the court has given time till December for the government to come out with a new drought manual and new guidelines to indicate when drought should be declared.
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