Mumbai: HC says, BMC didn't live up to expectations in door-to-door vax drive

Pulling up the BMC, the Bombay high court bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni on Wednesday said that the civic body failed to live up to its expectations on carrying out door-to-door vaccination. The bench has also sought to know who administered the vaccine to one of Maharashtra’s “senior-most politician” in the city earlier this year.
The bench had received a PIL filed by advocate Dhruti Kapadia, seeking door-to-door vaccination drive for senior citizens and bed-ridden patients.
During the hearing, Kapadia apprised the bench of the guidelines issued by the Kerala government on door-to-door vaccination. She further said that other states like J&K, Odisha, Bihar and Ranchi have also began the door-to-door inoculation drive.
“All these states have done it without any litigation or court’s intervention. Why can’t Maharashtra do it?” Kapadia questioned.
Chief justice Datta noted that in one of the earlier hearings, the BMC, through senior counsel Anil Sakhare, had submitted that it was ready to begin door-to-door vaccination drive, but was awaiting permission from the Union government.
Datta further noted that a senior-most politician in the state was vaccinated at his residence. “At the inception of the vaccination drive, a very senior politician got vaccination at his home in Mumbai. We want to know who did it? We want an answer whether it was done by the BMC or someone else?” Datta questioned.
The chief justice further said that the HC had higher expectations from the civic body. “We are saying you are the model for the entire country. Then why can’t you begin door-to-door vaccination drives?” he said, adding, “We are sorry to say, but you failed to live up to our expectations.”
The bench ordered the Union government to look into all this and inform of its decision on the next date of hearing.