Delhi HC Expresses Concern Over ‘Early’ Dengue Cases

The Delhi high court expressed concern over the occasional reports of dengue and chikungunya and asked the local commissioner to inspect waste disposal and to verify if waste management bylaws were being implemented by the civic bodies.

Dengue and chikungunya have hit Delhi at the beginning of this year. The Delhi high court expressed concern over these occasional reports and is wondering what will happen when the monsoon draws near.

The Delhi high court asked the local //commissioner to inspect waste disposal in various parts of the city such as garbage dumps, to verify if waste management bylaws were being implemented by the civic bodies.

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The corporations have imposed fines on those violating the bylaws and have already collected lakhs of rupees.

Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar reminded the agencies that both dengue and chikungunya accomplished emergency proportions in the past and agencies need to be watchful in preventing an outbreak.

In the first two months of 2018, Delhi reported about six cases of dengue, two of malaria and one of chikungunya.

The court was hearing two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed by advocates Arpit Bhargava and Gauri Grover on the failure of agencies to check the spread of these vector-borne diseases and seeking a time-bound action plan.

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The Delhi high court also asked the municipal bodies and the Delhi government if they have the policy to deal with the disposal of e-waste.

The court sought assistance from environmentalist Sunita Narain and asked her to report in this regard.

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During the hearing, the bench also directed Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) to inform if the waste management bylaws were being implemented in the areas under its jurisdiction on the next date of hearing, which is on April 11.

The order came after DCB said it needed instructions from the ministry of defense to change any pre-existent practices.

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Earlier, the court also looked into the issue of solid waste management and ordered for the framing of waste management bylaws.

The corporations informed the bench that they had uploaded the bylaws on their websites and had imposed fines on those violating them. They had already collected lakhs of rupees in penalties for violation of sanitary rules and the bylaws.

Source-Medindia