Cuttack, March 23: Orissa High Court has pulled up the state government for failing to file a reply on a PIL for a CBI probe into implementation of welfare schemes for tribal peoples, especially those living in hilly areas of the state.

Expressing displeasure over the laidback approach of the state government, the court yesterday said the government could not take it easy in this matter, as more than six months had passed since it was directed to give a reply to the PIL filed citing the death of 18 Juang tribal children in July last year.

The deaths reported last year had occurred because of malnutrition related diseases in three months at the Nagada village in Jajpur district. The division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi ordered the personal appearance of the Jajpur district collector on April 6, if the state government failed to file a reply to the PIL by then.

The judges posted the matter to April 6 for hearing, along with the reply of the state government and the report of a fact-finding team of the Nationalist Lawyers' Forum in the form of an affidavit.