The Supreme Court on Monday fined the Delhi government Rs 25,000 for delaying its report on the officials who are not cooperating with it to tackle vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya, ANI reported. The court on September 30 had asked the Aam Aadmi Party government to file the names and evidence against the officers that were not discharging their duties.
An affidavit filed by Health Minister Satyendar Jain (pictured above) alleged that files pertaining to dengue and chikungunya in the Capital were being sent to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung’s office instead of the government, according to PTI. The affidavit was filed in response to a notice issued by the apex court on the course of action being taken by the AAP administration to tackle the diseases.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-run Municipal Corporation of Delhi for the rise in the number of chikungunya and dengue cases in the national capital. While the National Green Tribunal has pulled up the city’s municipal bodies for the disease outbreak, the Delhi High Court had asked the AAP government to ensure that hospitals provided treatment to every patient that approached them.
So far, at least 19 people have died from complications caused by chikungunya, with more than 2,600 cases of the disease being reported in the national capital.
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