Bombay high court: ‘Can’t deny food benefits to kids without Aadhaar’

The Bombay high court directed on Wednesday that no child in Maharashtra should be deprived of the benefits of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) for the want of an Aadhaar card

The Bombay high court directed on Wednesday that no child in Maharashtra should be deprived of the benefits of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) for the want of an Aadhaar card.

Bombay high court

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Maharashtra Rajya Anganwadi Karmachari Sangh, a union of anganwadi workers who were complaining about a communication issued by the Women and Child Development department in September 2017.

According to this notice, the ICDS commissioner was instructed to not fill any vacant posts in anganwadis across the state, merge anganwadis that cater to fewer children, and make mandatory the linking of Aadhaar for children who avail benefits from the scheme.

The communication was issued pursuant to directions issued by the finance department.

“Said direction means that the children, who are otherwise entitled to benefits under the ICDS, will be deprived of the benefits, if they do not have Aadhaar cards,” said the division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Mahesh Sonak, adding that this would defeat the very object of the scheme.

Advocate Kranti LC, who represented the petitioner, pointed out that the ICDS had been framed pursuant to directions of the Supreme Court and aimed at providing nutritional food to rural and slum children between 0 and 6 years. He submitted that the communication of September 2017 was completely contrary to the objectives of the scheme.

The bench accepted his statements and noted that if the communication of September 2017 is implemented, the ICDS and the National Food Security Act, 2013, becomes “practically impossible” to enact. The bench therefore directed the state government to ensure no child is deprived of nutritional supplements and meals being served at anganwadi centres for want of Aadhaar cards. Noting that the Supreme Court has laid down a criteria for anganwadi centres, the bench also restrained the commissioner of ICDS from merging anganwadis and directed the principal secretary of the department of Women and Child Development to fill the vacant posts in anganwadi centres across Maharashtra.