Uttar Pradesh Court Orders Hot Meals for Children and Mothers at Anganwadi Centers

Court Directs Change in Nutrition Program

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court instructed the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday to provide cooked meals instead of dry rations through self-help groups at Anganwadi centers for children up to six years old, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.

The court emphasized that the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme has been in place for over fifty years, and it is crucial for the government to implement it effectively to combat child malnutrition.

This ruling came from a bench comprising Justice A.R. Masoodi and Justice Subhash Vidyarti, who resolved separate public interest litigations filed by Shipra Devi and another petitioner. The decision, which was reserved on July 29, was announced on Friday.

In her petition, Shipra Devi from Lakhimpur argued that the scheme has been operational for fifty years, distributing nutritional food at Anganwadi centers through coordination between the central and state governments.

The petition highlighted that previously, hot cooked meals were provided, but the state government has now opted to distribute dry rations through local self-help groups, a decision that should be halted.

The central and state governments opposed the petitions, stating that the earlier arrangement for distributing hot meals involved supplies from companies, but the new decision aims to enhance local nutrition for children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers through self-help groups at Anganwadi centers.

The government also contended that the public interest litigations were not valid and were allegedly filed by affected companies under false pretenses.

The court noted that intervention in government policy matters is only warranted when there is a violation of constitutional provisions, which was not the case here as delegating work to local self-help groups did not breach any constitutional mandates.

In its ruling, the court directed the state government to ensure that nutritional food is distributed solely as hot cooked meals and take-home meals.

The bench remarked, 'Prioritizing self-help groups and empowering women is a commendable step, but this empowerment should genuinely involve the participation of gram panchayats, and self-help groups should not be seen as lacking in any way that would justify a breach of the legal orders and provisions contained in relevant rules and regulations.'