HC gives 2 months to Govt to collect data from Ashram schools

The Bombay High Court today granted eight weeks time to Maharashtra Government to collect data about facilities required at Ashram (residential) schools in tribal areas in the absence of which students die due to snake bites, scorpion bites, fever and minor illness.
Government Pleader Aruna Kamat-Pai sought two months time to collect the data, saying they had begun the process of collecting data about facilities needed in the Ashram schools.
Facilities would include providing toilets and vehicles in Asram schools. In the absence of toilets, students go to forests to answer the call of nature and get bitten by snakes and scorpions. Also, there are no vehicles to transport the students to hospitals in case they fall sick, said a PIL.

A total of 793 children in the last decade had died due to snake bites, scorpion bites, fever and minor illness, said Ravindra Talpe, a resident of Nasik, who filed the PIL.
The PIL alleged that the children had died due to negligence of staff who failed to ensure that proper treatment was being given to the children in time.
According to the PIL, there are 1100 residential schools imparting education to 4,50,000 students in the state.

The petitioner had earlier said that the government had admitted before the court that it had to pay ex-gratia amount to 340 parents. However, no statement had been made by the state as to why the amount was not paid to them so far and also why there was a delay in making the payment.

The ex-gratia amount of Rs 15,000 in each case had been increased up to Rs 75,000. But even Rs 75,000 was not enough to compensate the life of a tribal, the PIL further stated.
The government informed the court that 453 parents got the ex-gratia and the rest would receive the compensation as and when funds are available.
The government also informed that in keeping with a government resolution (GR) of March 25, 1998, 372 teams of the medical personnel had been formed and 185 posts created.
However, the petitioner alleged that despite creation of such posts, many inmates of the ashram schools are still not getting medical facilities.

The persons appointed on these posts have either not reported for work or have not performed any work after their appointment, the petition said.