HC asks UP govt to form pandemic public grievance panel in every dist
PRAYAGRAJ : The Allahabad high court on Tuesday expressed unhappiness as an affidavit filed by the state government indicated that number of Covid-19 tests had been “reduced gradually” and it (the affidavit) did not give information regarding the number of ambulances in the state or provide sufficient details of meals for Covid patients at government hospitals.
“Even the statistics which has been given in the affidavit qua testing in State surprisingly discloses that a number of testing has been reduced gradually. Even the details regarding oxygen production in the State qua 22 hospitals have not been given, ” the bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar said while hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on “conditions of quarantine centres and for providing better treatment to corona positives” in Uttar Pradesh.
The court also directed the state government to constitute within 48 hours a three-member pandemic public grievance committee in every district of Uttar Pradesh to look into the grievances of the public with regard to the difficulties faced in Covid-19 treatment in the state.
Each pandemic public grievance committee would comprise a CJM (chief judicial magistrate) or a judicial officer, a professor of a medical college and an administrative officer of the rank of additional district magistrate.
The court further directed that in the rural areas, complaints can be made directly to SDM (subdivisional magistrate) of the tehsil concerned who shall transmit the same to the pandemic public grievance committee. The committee itself will also look into all the news that goes “viral”.
Not satisfied with the affidavit filed by Badugu Deva Paulson, secretary (Home), government of Uttar Pradesh, the bench said that neither the required information as mandated by its earlier order was given nor compliance of its directions were made.
The bench went on to observe, “So far the issue of health bulletin to be issued by the Covid hospitals both government and private through
COURT FURTHER DIRECTED THAT IN RURAL AREAS COMPLAINTS CAN BE MADE DIRECTLY TO SDM OF THE TEHSIL
the district-based portal is concerned, these portals seem to have not been updated. Similarly, the proper procurement and supply of the life savings drugs/ life support systems like BiPaP machines and High Flow Nasal Cannula Masks have not been made available to the various hospitals, though supply of availability of life-saving drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumap has been shown to have been made.”
As for the meal provided to Covid patients of government hospitals, the court observed, “Only fact stated is that Rs 100 is allocated per patient in Level-1 category hospitals. It is a well-known fact that the Covid patient needs highly nutritious food that should include fruits and milk in his daily diet and we fail to understand how with Rs 100 per capita budget the Government is managing three times meal in Level-1 category hospitals with 2100 required calories. No details have been given regarding Level-2 and Level-3 hospitals. We want food details with the calories count of each item in respect of the hospitals of all the categories.”
The Bench said that the recent surge of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state is engulfing in it the remote rural areas and smaller city and town areas of almost all the districts of Uttar Pradesh.
“It would be in the fitness of the things that purchase of vaccine is not only expedited but vaccination programme is launched at a war footing. Even in our last order we had made clear that unless and until everyone was vaccinated, nobody was safe. We hope and trust that the State Government would try to purchase as many vials of desired vaccine as possible to vaccinate maximum number and at least more than 2/3 of the population in 2-3 months’ time,” the court observed.
The court further said that it is necessary to know how many life-saving equipment are really installed in the community health centres.
“Such details are required to be known because in rural areas by and large the facilities are not available and the villagers are dying of Covid for want of proper care. Similar is the situation in the smaller cities,” observed the court.
The court directed the state government counsel to apprise it how it is managing Covid hospitals, requirement of oxygen, beds and life-saving drugs and equipment in the districts of Bahraich, Barabanki, Bijnor, Jaunpur and Shravasti.
The state government was also asked to disclose in its affidavit about the number of tests done in these places (urban and rural) and the laboratory where the testing was being performed.
The data has to be given from March 31, 2021 to May 10. The court has fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing in the case.