Chhattisgarh High Court rules govt.’s act of taking over Christian–run village health center illegal

The High Court of Chhattisgarh has pronounced that the action of the state government of Chhattisgarh, which had illegally wrested control of a village health center run by Christians following false charges that its management was indulging in conversion activities, was unjustified and has directed it to explain its move.

The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–run government has reportedly fired 17 of the employees of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Lundra village on October 10.

The government program had been assigned in 1995 to the Raigarh–Ambikapur Health Association (RAHA), a Catholic voluntary health service of the Ambikapur diocese in the eastern part of the state.

However, RAHA received a letter on October 26 which stated that the government of Chhattisgarh had canceled a previous government's order allowing the Church agency to manage the ICDS.

"The BJP government is determined to dislodge RAHA from the ICDS Lundra, and allegations of conversions are an effective means to do so," Compass quoted Sr. Emilina Xess, child development project officer, as saying.

When Sr. Xess approached the High Court, it issued a stay order prohibiting the government from taking over the center as the recent government order did not specify the reasons for the takeover.

According to Sr. Xess, the government was jealous of the good reputation and popularity enjoyed by Christians at the ICDS in Lundra.

The state government has taken steps to terminate the services of Sr. Xess and Sr. Lucy Barat, deputy child development project officer, on grounds that they were improperly appointed, Compass has reported.

Sr. Xess, however, informed Compass that their appointments were as per the rules laid down by the state government.

According to the Rev. Theodore Lakra, judicial vicar of the Amibakpur diocese, the dismissals were a gross violation of minorities rights and prejudice against Christians.

"This is done out of malice against the Christian community," Rev. Lakra said. "These charges of forced conversion are baseless, as an independent enquiry body had not found any cases of conversion in ICDS Lundra."

The ICDS has been a model for other such centers serving the poor in the district of Surguja. In 1999–2000, it received the state's Birsa Munda award for best performance.

RAHA promotes holistic health among poor, mostly tribal villagers in the area served by Ambikapur and Raigarh dioceses as well as Jashpur diocese, formed this year from Raigarh. It provides pregnant women and children up to age 6 with medical care and supplemental nutrition. It also teaches trades to women who have dropped out of school and runs kindergartens for children. The project has 151 centers.