This story is from September 17, 2019

Delhi HC backing for government’s anti-dengue fight

The AAP government’s public health campaign against dengue has received support from an unexpected quarter — Delhi high court.
Delhi HC backing for government’s anti-dengue fight
Delhi high court
NEW DELHI: The AAP government’s public health campaign against dengue has received support from an unexpected quarter — Delhi high court.
Chief Justice DN Patel recently asked all HC staff and judges and staff of subordinate courts to make the government’s awareness programme on dengue/chikungunya programme a “resounding success” by participating in it.
In a circular sent to all district judges heading various court complexes in the city and all bar associations, the HC administration has backed the ‘10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute’ campaign launched by the Delhi government, saying it is done “with an objective to control and prevent the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya through public participation”.

The circular, issued by registrar general Dinesh Kumar Sharma conveys that the chief justice “has desired the participation in the said programme of the officers and staff of registry of the high court, all district and sessions judges and judicial officers under their control, administrative staff of the Delhi district courts, as well as advocates of all the bar associations of Delhi to make it a resounding success.”
Explaining how the judiciary can participate in the public health awareness campaign, the circular says that all staff and judges can check their houses and surroundings on every Sunday at 10am till November 15 and their respective office premises at 11am every Friday till the same date, “to ensure that there is no stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed”.
Interestingly, it was also due to the monitoring of HC on the judicial side from 2015 onwards that Delhi government and the three corporations took several key steps to prevent spread of vector-borne diseases every year during monsoon.

A bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal had taken suo moto note of the dengue menace and converted the same into a public interest case, reviving another PIL filed by advocate Arpit Bhargava seeking directions to the authorities to take steps to stop the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, like dengue and chikungunya, in the national capital.
The PIL hearings saw HC push the government and municipal bodies to ensure proper garbage disposal, implement solid waste by-laws and widely publicise the by-laws and other norms to ensure cleanliness in the city in the wake of the rains. In February this year, HC adjourned the PIL in deference to the Supreme Court also examining solid waste disposal management and other steps being taken by authorities in the capital.
Bhargava subsequently filed a contempt petition against the corporations’ commissioners, which is pending in HC.
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