HC pulls up MCDs on doubling of dengue cases

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday pulled up the municipal corporations for their failure to control the spread of dengue which has doubled this year in the national Capital, saying there is a complete paralysis in civic administration as no one is bothered about the deaths.

The high court said that the authorities have become so populist in their approach that the policies are being made only in populist ways and they are scared of doing anything that will lose them votes.

If only elections were fought and won or lost on real issues, we would have a different city. It does not work that way. Today they are being fought on what is free, it said.

This is a sorry state of affairs in the national capital. It is a disillusion. There is a complete paralysis in civic administration as no one is bothered about the deaths. They do not bother, this is the attitude. The officials are living with the attitude that since there is a large population, the disease will come and go, an anguished bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.

The bench said dengue cases have doubled and if all the officials are working toward one goal, how is it that the numbers have doubled, or is it that the situation is beyond repair. The court appointed an amicus curiae to assist it in the mosquito matter, including in diseases like Dengue, Malaria, and Chikungunya, and sent the case before the Chief Justice which is also dealing with another suo motu petition on the infestation of mosquito breeding in the city.

The bench also agreed with the counsel for South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) that people in the society do not listen unless there is deterrence and said it was not the court's job to increase the challan amount that was currently Rs 500.