The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a strong statement concerning the spread of viral diseases, especially dengue and chikungunya, throughout the city. The Court remarked, “Nagpurians are facing a hard time, as not only are the hospitals full of patients suffering from dengue, chikungunya, or other viral infections, but the situation is also dire in every household.”
After reviewing photographs of the unhygienic conditions within the city limits submitted by Advocate Tejal Agre, Justices Nitin Sambre and Abhay Mantri, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), instructed the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), Nagpur Division, and the Commissioner of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to file affidavits detailing the measures implemented to control and eliminate the spread of viral infections. Additionally, the court directed the PWD to provide a response concerning the removal of roadside debris under their jurisdiction.
The court observed that the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department reported a workforce of 5,164 staff members assigned to sweeping tasks across all ten zones. In addition to these Municipal Corporation employees, private agencies—M/s. A.G. Enviro Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd. from Thane and M/s. BVG India Limited from Pune—have been designated to handle door-to-door collection and transportation of garbage and solid waste in five zones each.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was initially filed in 2014 by social worker Anil Agre, who sought a court directive for proactive measures to combat dengue and malaria. Recently, Advocate Tejal Agre submitted an application to the court highlighting a significant rise in cases, noting that the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has yet to implement effective preventive strategies.