Allahabad HC directs UP govt to distribute hot cooked food, take-home food under ICDS

Lucknow, Aug 1 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to distribute hot cooked food and take-home food under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), instead of the dry nutrition model currently in place.

A Lucknow bench of Justices A R Masoodi and Subhash Vidyarthi disposed of several PILs that challenged the government's approach.

The judgment, reserved on July 29, was a culmination of an ongoing legal battle over the ICDS scheme's implementation.

The court observed that the ICDS scheme, a 50-year-old initiative, must be implemented in its "true sense" to effectively tackle the problem of malnutrition among its beneficiaries, which include children up to six years of age, and pregnant and lactating women.

The PILs, filed by Lakhimpur resident Shipra Devi and others, argued that the state government's decision to distribute dry nutrition locally through self-help groups (SHGs) violated the scheme's original rules, which mandate the provision of hot cooked meals and take-home food.

While the government defended its policy, arguing that the new system would provide better local-level nutrition and that the PILs were not legally maintainable, the court disagreed. It emphasized that while empowering SHGs is a "welcome approach," such a policy cannot justify the "violation of statutory mandates and provisions contained in the relevant rules and regulations". PTI COR CDN ZMN