Annual Report 2010-2011 by Dharmapuri District, on the south by Villupuram District and on the east by Kanchipuram District. 6.15 The NHRC team in Thiruvannamalai District was headed by Shri P.C. Sharma, Member NHRC. The objective of the visit was to take stock of the facilities available in the District and the implementation of various policies, programmes and schemes of the State and the Central Government designed to protect and promote civil, political, economic and social rights. The team visited various hospitals, police stations, sub-jails, anganwadi centres, schools and fair price shops. After the field visit, a one-day workshop was conducted in the District to discuss the current status of human rights situation with all the concerned officials of the State and the District, representatives of non-governmental organizations and the civil society. The workshop was attended by over 150 State functionaries and included the Commissioner, Social Welfare and Deputy Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu; District officers from the Departments of Revenue, Education, Health, Welfare, Agriculture, Police, Prison and Public Works. Public representatives such as the local MLA, Members of Municipality and District Panchayat and representatives of local NGOs also attended the workshop. 6.16 Some of the major recommendations/suggestions of the workshop are: • It was observed that the public distribution system was functioning very well in Thiruvannamalai District. There was no report of starvation deaths from the district. The example of the State of Tamil Nadu needs to be replicated as a role model for all the States in the country in addressing the issue related to ‘right to food’ through its public distribution scheme. As part of the welfare measures for the people belonging to the weaker sections of the society, the State was running hostels for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes. It was recommended that naming of these institutions should not be class indicative, as it is suggestive of discriminatory practices. It was recommended that the District authorities should spread awareness among the people especially those living in remote areas, about all the State welfare measures and developmental programmes so that they could avail the benefits of these programmes and welfare measures. The District has a sizeable portion of uncultivable land (21039 hectares). It was recommended that efforts should be made to make the land cultivable and further distribute it to the poorer section of the society from the point of view of augmenting their incomes. • • • B. Meeting of Core Group on Right to Food 6.17 The NHRC has also constituted a Core Group on Right to Food with 11 Members, which facilitates the Commission on all matters having a bearing on issues concerning right to food. The said Core Group during the period under report was expanded from 11 to 18 Members in August 2010. The expanded Core Group on Right to Food in the Commission has the following Members : NHRC 77