No starvation death reported in recent years, Centre tells SC

Making his submissions before a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, attorney general KK Venugopal emphasised that the Centre is already running 131 social welfare schemes and thus, it would not be possible for them to create a separate corpus for community kitchens.

The Union government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that no starvation death has been reported by any state or Union territory (UT) in the recent years, adding that the Centre cannot divert any additional funds to the states for running community kitchens.

The top court was hearing a petition filed by Anun Dhawan and others, seeking subsidised canteens in all states and union territories to ensure food security, in the backdrop of the havoc wreaked by the pandemic.

Making his submissions before a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, attorney general KK Venugopal emphasised that the Centre is already running 131 social welfare schemes and thus, it would not be possible for them to create a separate corpus for community kitchens.

The A-G told the bench, which also included justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli, that the onus has to lie with the states and their local bodies to provide for community kitchens out of their own resources. “We have a concern for funds. We have 131 schemes to run. There is already a huge funds going into those schemes...We can’t divert any money from the existing 131 schemes. States will have to find money themselves,” Venugopal added.

The bench, however, replied that the court is not expecting the Centre to run a scheme for community kitchen but would instead want it to frame a model scheme and circulate it to all the states and UTs for their consideration.

“Government of India should not take it as an adversarial issue. You must have a practical approach... Why don’t you think of some model scheme? It is difficult for us to frame a uniform scheme but the Centre could make a model scheme and leave it to the states to do the rest,” the bench asked the A-G.

The top court was hearing a petition filed by Anun Dhawan and others, seeking subsidised canteens in all states and union territories to ensure food security, in the backdrop of the havoc wreaked by the pandemic.

Advocate Ashima Mandla, representing the petitioner, urged the court to set up an expert committee to formulate schemes for community kitchens across the country.

During the hearing, the court also referred to replies by some of the state governments, which were willing to run community kitchens if an additional 2-3% food grains were provided to them by the Centre.

As Venugopal said that the issue of community kitchen may not be linked to starvation deaths in the country, the court asked if the law officer could adduce latest data to support the Centre’s affidavit that there have been no starvation deaths in recent years.

“Why is it that Government of India is relying on data from 2015-16 on starvation deaths? We cannot look at this from the prism of data from six years ago. Are you willing to state that there is no starvation death except one recently reported in Tamil Nadu? What is the latest data?” it asked the A-G.

A five-year-old boy reportedly died of starvation in Tamil Nadu in December 2021. The boy was found abandoned in a push cart. Venugopal had cited some news reports to point out that this was the only hunger death reported in the media but it is for the Tamil Nadu government to make categorical statements in this regard.

The A—G added that states and UTs have to report deaths due to starvation and that the Centre’s affidavit was based on their reporting. “We have to depend on states for this data. They have not reported any death. Let the states file their affidavits on the latest data. We are not disputing that malnutrition exists but the question is of additional funding. Besides, the number of deaths will have to be accepted by all sides,” he added.

To this, the bench asked all states and UTs to file the latest figures on starvation deaths, following which the Centre could collate the relevant information. It also urged the A-G to formulate in consultation with states and other stakeholders a ‘national model scheme’ to set up community kitchens.

“We explained the AG on the intention of this court and positivity of exploring a solution. So far as logistics is concerned, it can be worked out with states. We adjourn this matter for three weeks and states can file additional affidavit on malnutrition, hunger and other issues,” stated the court in its order.