SC unhappy over Delhi meet on chikungunya, dengue

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the lack of a concrete outcome after a meeting held here on its direction to battle chikungunya and dengue in the national capital.

A meeting chaired by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung was held on Wednesday. It was attended, among others, by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and officers of various civic agencies and other departments.

As a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Amitava Roy expressed displeasure over the way the meeting went, a suggestion was put forth that another meeting could be held at 5.30 p.m. on Thursday.

Accepting the suggestion, the bench said the meeting should focus on the steps to deal with the situation.

Observing that it expected the meeting would keep public interest in mind and look at the things in a positive manner, the bench said: "We expect the participants to arrive at a time frame within which all necessary steps will be taken and as to who will be responsible for their implementation."

"We also expect the efforts to be consultative, collaborative and cooperative," the bench said.

The court said the meeting will also discuss the "preventive steps for any contingency that may arise in the near future".

Taking note of amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves' submission on October 4 about piling up of garbage in and around Delhi, which was a contributory factor for vector-born diseases, the court said: "The participants will discuss effective ways for garbage clearance to maintain sanitation and hygiene in and around Delhi."

The next hearing will be on October 17.

--IANS

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