The Right to Food Campaign, Odisha and the Open Hand, a network of organisations committed to realisation of the right to food in the State, took a dig at the State Government for the poor treatment to destitute and homeless people in urban areas under various welfare schemes.

“The Government is busy enacting laws and making schemes but not serious about their implementation for betterment of the poor and downtrodden. The Centre denied allocation in 2015-16 fiscal as the State failed to utilise funds granted under National Urban livelihood Mission,” alleged Pradip Pradhan of the Right to Food Campaign here at a Press conference.

Pradhan alleged that the shelter-less people in urban areas are yet to be benefited under the scheme for urban homeless while the Government did not include them in the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Giving instances of Government apathy towards them, Pradhan said, “Following the direction of the Supreme Court, the State Government has opened only two shelter houses in Bhubaneswar for shelter-less people which also lacks basic amenities.”

“The Government is yet to open shelter centres in urban areas, Cuttack, Puri and Rourkela. Though the main objective of the Scheme for Urban Homeless is to ensure availability and access of the urban homeless population to permanent shelters, including basic infrastructure facilities like water supply, sanitation, safety and security, but these facilities is still a day dream at the two shelter centres open near Kargil slum and Malisahi in Bhubaneswar,” alleged Pradhan.