Govt cuts BPL list, SC asks AG for report

A bench comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice H.K. Sema has given two weeks time to the government to file its response on the issues of reducing the list of BPL families, cut in food grain supply for the food-for-work programme and the earmarking of 20 metric tonnes of food grains for the said programme.

On the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, Sorabjee stressed that adequate budgetary allocations have been made in the 2003-04 General Budget to give full effect to the project envisaged to help the poor.

The Supreme Court, which has been hearing the petition filed by PUCL for last two years had said during the last hearing on October 29 that State Chief Secretaries would be held responsible for any future deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the country. The bench also said that it would now hear all the hunger-related cases on a regular basis in the Supreme Court.

Observing that it was the duty of every state to prevent death due to starvation and malnutrition, the Court had said that any such death occurring despite repeated court orders would mean that they have not been followed by the states.

On May 8, 2002, the Court while directing implementation of poverty-alleviation schemes had appointed former planning secretary N.C. Saxena as court commissioner to monitor implementation of the scheme and give a report to the court. The bench had also asked the Chief Secretaries to give wide publicity within eight weeks to the directions of the court.