The Bombay High Court bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Girish Kulkarni on Thursday lauded the "successful" Mumbai model of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and praised the civic body for its "effective job." The HC insisted that all the corporations in Maharashtra must replicate the Mumbai model especially in Pune and Nashik, where Covid19 cases continue to be higher.
The bench ordered the state government to facilitate a virtual meeting of BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal with his counterparts from other municipal corporations, so that he can share city's success story with them.
On Thursday afternoon, senior counsel Anil Sakhare for BMC submitted a note detailing the available beds and stock of Remdesivir, Oxygen and other essentials needed to treat Covid.
Sakhare further said that the city has so far recorded 335 cases of Black Fungus, which is also being treated properly.
Sakhare went on to explain BMC’s functioning of BMC and said, "We receive the ICMR data at midnight daily. Our officials segregate the data as per the wards in the city. The data is then put up on the website and by morning 8 daily, we call the patients."
Sakhare also detailed on the how each patient was counselled and asked about their symptoms, and a well-informed decision was taken to isolate a patient at home or to admit him or her in a hospital.
The senior counsel further highlighted that there are 24x7 working ward war rooms in each if the 24 wards across the city, which receive updates on bed availability every two hours. "The war rooms help citizens get beds. They are continuously calling citizens upon a request for bed is made," he submitted.
Sakhare said that the system BMC follows, ensures that there is no panic situation.
Having heard the submissions, Justice Kulkarni sought to know as to how many corporations in the state have followed the BMC's model. "We fail to understand as to why isn't the same thing being done by other corporations in this state. We say so because we have seen BMC has done an effective job," the judge added.
Justice Sayed then questioned BMC on why it had not yet conducted a virtual meeting with other municipal commissioners. Sakhare responded that the state must convene a meeting and that the BMC chief cannot on his own ask other commissioners to attend a meeting.
"Our entire anxiety was that the successful Mumbai Model must reach across Maharashtra. When this model can work much better in a city like Mumbai, given its demographics, then why can't in other cities? Especially, in Pune and Nashik?" Justice Sayed said.
Accordingly, advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appeared for the state and said the government is ready to convene a meeting. "You (state) ensure that the BMC commissioner meets his counterparts at the earliest and shares the successful Mumbai model with them," Justice Kulkarni said.
The matter would be next heard on June 2.
