All from one community, kept like cattle: Gauhati High Court in suo motu PIL on displaced families, kids in Assam shelter camps

The Gauhati High Court on Friday slammed the Assam government over the condition of children and families living in shelter camps after beng displaced by eviction drives in the State. (In Re Plight of Children in Temporary Shelter Homes).A Bench of Chief Justice (CJ) Sandeep Mehta and Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita did not mince its words while going through a report of the Amicus Curiae, Senior Advocate BD Konwar, regarding the condition of one such camp."The most unfortunate part is, see the list, all people from one community. How long can you keep people like cattle in temporary shelters built of tarpaulin? Just think of your own child living (in these), can you even imagine?", the CJ asked counsel for the State..While acknowledging the need to vacate encroached forest areas, the Court advised that the government ought to have a plan in advance to rehabilitate people displaced from these areas. "You cannot be inhuman in these matters. This is inhumanity of the highest order. This is about human misery, have to be sensitive about it," the CJ stressed..During the hearing, the amicus had flagged the lack of clean drinking water facilities at such camps, highlighting the high iron content in the water at present.Counsel for the State, Senior Advocate D Nath, responded that there were provisions to get treatment incase of any illnesses."Where will they go after treatment, again in the same hellhole? Children will be drinking the same water (high iron content), is it right? In Rajasthan, in some areas with high fluoride in water, we have seen people's bones etc get affected," the CJ shot back..The Court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the plight of children in shelter homes for displaced persons..The amicus' recent report in the instant case, prepared after he visited a camp at Daboka in Hojai district on Thursday night, describes the conditions there as 'worse than a cowshed'.The Bench in its order directed the that properly-filtered water supply be provided in that camp, and asked the State to initiate steps for upkeep of the same. The government was also directed to inform the Court on the exact number of such shelter camps across the State. "The statistics would include the gender-wise distribution as well as the number of children sheltered in all these camps.".Moreover, the amicus pointed out that the infrastructure at the existing schools at one such camp in Hojai district was not enough for all the children.The Bench asked the State to file a detailed response to the report and listed the matter next on May 8 this year. As the hearing drew to a close, Chief Justice Mehta asked the State not to 'shy away' from the issue..The amicus in the case is assisted by Advocate VV Thanyu..[Read order]