The Hindu : Front Page : Centre restrained from transferring mid-day meal scheme to States

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Friday, Sep 17, 2004

Front Page

Centre restrained from transferring mid-day meal scheme to States

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 16. The Supreme Court today restrained the Union Government from taking steps to transfer the administration of mid-day meals in schools to the State Governments.

A three-judge Bench, comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari and Justice Tarun Chatterjee, said the implementation of the scheme would continue to be in the hands of the States and the Union Territories.

The judges also sought the Rajasthan Government's response on the recent starvation deaths and the special package announced by the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, for the Sahariya tribes of Shahabad and Kishanganj block of Baran district.

They were informed that a situation of nutritional emergency existed among the tribe.

Earlier, the petitioner regretted that the Rajasthan Government instead of tackling the problem had got into a verbal war with the Opposition on whether deaths were hunger related or not.

Directive to States

The court was passing orders on a public interest litigation petition filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties pointing out that starvation deaths were taking place in the country when the godowns of the Food Corporation of India were overflowing with foodgrains.

The petitioner had sought a direction to the States to properly implement the social welfare schemes for rural poor.

The court sought the response of all the States and the Union Territories by October 1 to the fifth report of a Commission, comprising two retired IAS officers, N.C. Saxena and S.R. Sankaran, on the implementation of Centrally-sponsored social schemes for rural poor.

The report blamed Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttaranchal for the lapses in the non-utilisation of funds allocated under the Prime Minister's Gram Yojana (nutrition).

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