Something has to be done. Figure out a solution: Bench to Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday was informed by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) that it has stopped providing food to people staying at its shelters from July 2 onwards on the instructions of the AAP government.
The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek by DUSIB during hearing of a PIL which has claimed that shelter homes at Delhi deny three quality meals a day to its occupants and also do not provide them any soaps, sanitizers and other essential items.
In response to the Board's submission, the bench said that people were staying at the shelters and should it not be providing them meals.
"Something has to be done. Figure out a solution," the bench said to DUSIB and the Delhi government and listed the matter for further hearing on July 29.
The petition, by a woman residing at a shelter home in Sarai Kale Khan, has contended that the central government on March 28 issued a notification directing all the states and union territories to provide three meals a day in the shelter homes.
The plea has further claimed that as per the notification, "three hygienically prepared meals a day should be provided to the people residing in shelter homes for which an amount of Rs 100 per homeless per day may be incurred".
However, in complete violation of the above mentioned notification, DUSIB was providing only two meals of Rs 20 each for lunch and dinner to the people at the shelter homes, the petition has alleged.
It has also alleged that the "quality of food is poor and below the minimum standard. The meals only consist of plain rice and dal which are of lowest quality available in the market".