CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday directed the State government to come up with a plan to address the nutritional needs of children who couldn’t benefit from the mid-day meal scheme due to the lockdown.The direction was issued on a plea by NGO Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, which sought for nutritious food to be given to children in the State who earlier benefited from the mid-day meal scheme.
The petitioner sought for the food to be delivered to children’s houses.The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, in its interim orders, said, “Though children may not be attending schools, where mid-day meals were provided, the State has to be proactive and almost ensure door-to-door delivery of meals to children all across the State.”“While it may be easier for the State, whether through corporations or municipalities, to organise adequate food and nourishment for children, difficulties may come up in rural areas,” the judges said.
The court also stressed that the panchayat system may be used, and NGOs may be roped in to deliver food to children in rural areas. There may be logistic and practical difficulties, but aggressive steps must be taken, the court said in its interim orders, and adjourned the plea to July 7 for the State to indicate its initial response.