NGT-appointed lawyers to prepare inspection reports on dengue

With a rising number of cases of dengue and chikungunya affecting the national capital, the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday has appointed ten lawyers as local commissioners to check and prepare inspection reports on the issue.

Meanwhile, the NGT bench, headed by Justice Swantanter Kumar, directed all the three corporations of Delhi and also Delhi Police to help the lawyers in preparing the report.

The decision to appoint the lawyers was made on the basis of a petition filed by former Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scientist Mahendra Pandey who claimed that all civic and sanitation authorities have failed to effectively combat the menace of Dengue in Delhi.

As per the status report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 80 cases of chikungunya and 30 cases of dengue have already been reported in Delhi, in just four months since January 1, 2017. The statistics are unique as the season for such diseases in Delhi is between July and December.

However, the data also revealed that 11 patients had obtained the infection from one of Delhi's neighbouring states. Chikungunya and dengue cases in Delhi had tapered off by the first week of December last year.

The Delhi government has also started awareness programme for mosquito-borne disease in March. According to the data provided by the municipal corporation nearly 77, 36, 220 houses have already been inspected by the mosquito breeding checkers.

On Monday, the Delhi High Court also said, "We favoured the setting up of a high-level committee for taking effective measures against recurrence of dengue and chikungunya in 2017 in the national capital."

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra said that in 2017, the authorities have to be ready with their plans in advance so that no such cases occur.