According to a research, there have been 15,253 cases of child marriage and 6,582 malnutrition deaths in the last three years from 16 mostly tribal-dominated districts of Maharashtra.
This data is from a report submitted by advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to the Bombay High Court (HC). The Maharashtra government appointed three people for the same, who have now submitted their report.
During an earlier hearing, the bench was informed that one reason for child malnutrition deaths was a high rate of child marriage. The court had asked the district magistrate and district collector to visit the sixteen tribal districts and find out the reasons for high incidence of child marriage.
The bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta has been hearing a bunch of public interest litigations (PILs) about high cases of malnourishment in the tribal districts of Melghat in Maharashtra.
Reports stated that as many as 6,582 child deaths occurred over three years from 2019-20 to 2021-22 due to malnutrition, out of which 601 cases involved parents who were victims of child marriage and the mothers were minors.
Out of the total number of children who died due to malnutrition in the last three years, 5,031 belonged to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) group.
Moreover, 26, 059 cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were reported in the last three years, of which 20,293 cases belonged to the ST community. Besides, 1,10,674 cases of Medium Acute Malnutrition (MAM) were reported, of which 79,310 belonged to the ST community.
Other places from where malnutrition cases were reported included Nandurbar, Amravati, Nashik, Thane, Palghar and Gadchiroli.
Out of 1,270 child deaths due to malnutrition in Nandurbar district, in 137 cases the children's mothers were minors. Out of 729 deaths in Amravati district where Melghat is situated, in 75 cases the mothers were minors. In Gadchiroli district, 704 deaths took place, wherein 465 cases belonged to the ST community, out of which 88 cases consisted of mothers being minor.
The court asked the petitioners to respond to government reports and give suggestions and posted the matter for further hearing on June 20.
Also Read: Maharashtra: Child marriage soar during COVID-19 lockdown
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