T J MANJAMMA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IT is more than sixty years since we achieved independence and about two years less since we became a Socialist secular Democratic Republic. The Constitution of India proclaims that providing ourselves a Constitution was for the purpose of achieving justice - social, economical and political. Also declared that there shall be liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and very importantly equality of status and opportunity to all citizens of the country. Leave alone providing the means and source for leading a dignified life, we have not been able to provide even the basic necessities of life to all our fellow citizens. Poverty, concomitant hunger, lack of food for all people, and also clothing and shelter, no housing facility to all citizens, totally inadequate health facilities, not all can afford medical services, if is to be obtained as a cost, malnutrition, diseases, even social maladies, have persisted with gay abreaction even today, notwithstanding pockets of affluence, prosperity, even despicable wealth.

(2.) THOUGH successive Governments over the past about sixty years have strived to have a planned growth and achieve development by providing basic needs and facilities to the citizens, plans have not worked, schemes have not been properly implemented and though a good number of developmental schemes have been mooted, the benefits of the schemes have not reached the citizens for whom it was envisaged, the object of the scheme is not fulfilled, the poor have remained poor even have become poorer, but large amounts of public funds are already spent and continues to be spent.

(3.) INTEGRATED Child Development Service programme (JCDS, for short), is a scheme mooted by the Central Government in or around the year 1975 and initially with the main object of providing nutritious food for the children, particularly from the stage of infancy up to the age of six, by ensuring good health of lactating mothers, providing food not only to the child, but also to pregnant women and nursing mothers during the tender years of child, to lay a strong foundation for the healthy development of the body and the mind of the child, providing proper social conditions and atmosphere for the informed development of the personality of the child, and to take all incidental steps to achieve this main objective. This facility was sought to be provided to all children in the country, particularly in the rural sections and to achieve this object, what is known as Anganwadi centres, a promotional informal institution, which can act as the medium and instrument to achieve the object of the scheme, were sought to be established at villages and hamlets. The Central Government roped in the State Governments for implementing the said project and while issued norms and guidelines for the implementation of the project by the State government, indicated that the scheme is mainly funded by the Central Government and encouraged the State Governments and union territories to supplement the funding of the scheme to achieve better and improved results through the working of me scheme.