India, March 27 -- Despite more than two decades of hearings on child and maternal deaths due to malnutrition in the Melghat region of Maharashtra, the situation on ground remains largely unchanged, the Bombay High Court observed on Thursday.

"Babies are dying of malnutrition. If you see the photographs, you'll only see ribs and bones," a division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said. Continued child and maternal deaths were a reminder of the state government's failure to ensure access to food and provide basic medical care to the "needy" in the tribal-dominated region, the judges said.

During the hearing, Dr Ashish Satav, one of the petitioners who has been working in Melghat for more than 26 years, highlighted gaps i...