Consider preparing scheme for community kitchens: Supreme Court

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 18

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to consider preparing a model scheme for community kitchens across India and provide additional foodgrain to states to deal with malnutrition and hunger deaths.

As a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana posed several questions over malnutrition and hunger deaths, Attorney General KK Venugopal asserted that the Centre was on the front foot on the issue and was running 131 food-related programmes.

Maintaining that the Centre didn't dispute the existence of malnutrition or the need for community kitchens, Venugopal said, “The problem is the funding. The States have to source the funds for community kitchen programmes by themselves. We can’t divert money from the 131 programmes…We have so many welfare schemes.

Asking the Centre to consider preparing a model scheme for community kitchens across India and to support states to ensure food security for the poor, the Bench said it was not for the judiciary to formulate a uniform community kitchen scheme and that the Centre should do it in consultation with states. —

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