Menstrual health state subject: Centre to Supreme Court
New Delhi, April 1
Maintaining that it’s dedicated to improving access to menstrual hygiene for young and adolescent girls, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that the responsibility of providing healthcare services lies with state governments as public health is a state subject.
“It is submitted that public health is a state subject and the responsibility of providing healthcare services is that of respective state governments. The Central Government and its agencies are not the implementing bodies for schemes related to menstrual health and it is, in fact, the states and their agencies which are at the forefront of enforcement of the policies,” the Union Ministry of Health said in an affidavit.
The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jaya Thakur seeking directions to the Centre and states to provide free sanitary pads to girls studying in classes VI-XII in government schools across India.
