The Bombay High Court on Friday ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure that all possible steps were taken to provide proper healthcare facilities are provided to those suffering from conditions other than coronavirus.
A bench of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Amjad Sayed also appreciated the measures of the BMC, especially to start the helpline number for citizens. The bench has now ordered the Maharashtra government to issue directives to all municipal corporations to start such helpline numbers so as to help and guide citizens on various issues pertaining to coronavirus and its treatment.
This comes in a detailed judgment pronounced by the bench after hearing over 15 PILs highlighting various issues pertaining to coronavirus and the apathy of the administration to provide better facilities to non-Covid patients and senior citizens etc
"The senior citizens and people with comorbidities must not be forgotten in the war against COVID; in fact, most of the COVID victims, as per the available data, are senior citizens and people with comorbidities. The need to cater to their
interests cannot, therefore, be overemphasised," CJ Datta observed in his 96-page judgment.
The judges, however, found sufficient, the steps taken by the BMC to attend to senior citizens as well as people with comorbidities "We do hope and trust that such steps would be continued in the right earnest to ensure extension of all facilities to the most vulnerable class," CJ Datta said.
While noting the plight of non-Covid patients, the bench said, "Non-COVID patients equally have the right to health and medical aid as any other COVID-19 patient and, therefore, we direct the State and the BMC to take all such steps at its disposal to ensure that non-COVID patients do not suffer for want of adequate facilities. Any slip could be viewed seriously."
BMC helpline more or less successful
Apart from this, a few petitions alleged that the helpline number issued by the BMC was of no use as no proper information was being provided to citizens.
The bench, however, noted that the BMC receives at least 4,000 calls a day and "this an indicator of the load taken by the informers receiving the calls. Indeed, there could be scope for improvement and we do appreciate the stand of the BMC to include an additional dial-in option for dissemination of information helpful for non-COVID patients," the judges said.
The judges further said that the BMC helpline has been more or less successful. "Thus, we see no reason as to why other municipal corporations in the state may not introduce similar helplines in respect of services for the people within their territorial jurisdiction. A responsible civic body, being an institution of self-governance and constituted for the purpose of preserving public health, cannot shut its responsibility by pleading infrastructural deficiencies. We, therefore, direct the state to see to it that the other civic bodies emulate BMC's helpline (1916) and make available real time information," the CJ ordered.
Need to have a Complaint Cell
While the judges were impressed with the BMC helpline number, they added that there must be a separate toll-free number wherein citizens could lodge their grievances. "We are of the considered view that the BMC should, without any delay, explore ways and means to set up a grievance redressal cell before which complaints could be lodged online/offline. The cell must be instructed to act promptly as and when complaints deserving immediate intervention are received," the bench said.
Use private ambulances too
In its detailed judgment, the bench has also taken note of the shortage of ambulances to ferry patients from their homes to hospitals or Covid centers. It further took into account the fact that the BMC has been using ambulances offered by NGOs as well as converting buses of BEST into ambulances for transporting patients.
"The state and the BMC may consider requiring private ambulances to be made operational, provided of course requisite human resources are available to operate it. If indeed the platform of Uber can be utilized, that could take care of a part of the problem, i.e., of locating and requisitioning ambulances which are then not engaged," the judges ordered.
