SC to hear PIL on Delhi's chikungunya, garbage on Sep 26

The Supreme Court will hear on September 26 a petition on alleged utter indifference of the civic corporations towards garbage pile-up and outbreak of diseases like chikungunya, dengue and malaria in the national capital.

A bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice L. Nageswara Rao directed the public interest litigation on the issue by Delhi doctor Anil Mittal be filed or an early hearing after it was mentioned by senior counsel Colin Gonsalves.

Pointing to the alleged apathy of the Delhi civic corporations in removing garbage, Gonsalves said that "certain areas falling under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) have become garbage dumping grounds where mosquitoes are breeding".

Gonsalves also showed to the court photographs of huge garbage dumps in the national capital.

The petitioner has sought setting up of an expert panel to ascertain steps to deal with chikungunya cases in Delhi as well as across the country.

The senior counsel said that the civic bodies were not measuring up to the challenge of piled-up garbage and dangers posed by vector-borne diseases like chikungunya and dengue to the people.

As he drew the court's attention to breeding of mosquitos due to filth and garbage, the bench asked in a lighter vein "if the petitioner-doctor has made mosquitos a party" in the PIL.

The Delhi High Court had on September 20 directed the central and Delhi governments to take effective steps to ensure that the dengue and chikungunya patients are not denied treatment or admission in any of the hospitals in the national capital.

"The government of India as well as government of National Capital Territory of Delhi should take effective steps to ensure that the dengue patients are not denied treatment/admission in any of the hospital (government/private) of Delhi," the High Court had said in its order.

--IANS

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