HC issues notice on vacant posts in govt hospitals

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench, comprising CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar on Monday issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health), DME and Director of Public Health, directing them to respond within four weeks replying to contentions raised by the petitioner in PIL, who is aggrieved by the government’s inaction in filling medical and paramedical staff posts and strengthening infrastructure in hospitals across the State so that better services can be extended to people.

The bench was adjudicating the PIL by K Akhil Sri Guru Teja, president of NGO Help the People Charitable Trust, Hyderabad, aggrieved by the inaction in filling sufficient posts of doctors, nurses in hospitals and taking steps to provide better facilities, particularly in district hospitals.

The petitioner said doctors, nurses and infrastructure facilities in hospitals are not in tune with the demand due to which the poor and economically backward patients, who face delay in getting quality and timely medical aid.

Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the petitioner, brought to the court’s notice the deficiencies in government hospitals due to which the poor are deprived of quality and timely medical aid as guaranteed by the Constitution.

He named a few hospitals, like the Koti hospital which lacks a centralised communication system on bed availability. It has only 350 beds; there is no single ICU and NICU, whereas the requirement is 10 ICU beds and six NICU beds. There is huge shortage of nurses and doctors. The Area hospital at Manuguru has only six doctors of the 27 sanctioned; there is a huge vacancy of posts which need to be filled up.

The bench adjourned the hearing by four weeks, directing the officials cited to respond to notices, replying to contentions raised by the petitioner.

HMDA commissioner summoned for not complying with HC orders

Expressing serious concern over the lethargic and lackadaisical attitude of officials in implementing its orders, the division bench on Monday directed the HMDA commissioner to appear before it through video conference and inform why the court orders passed a year ago were not complied with. It adjourned the PIL to July 24 for further hearing.

The CJ bench in its order said ‘As the orders of this court, which was passed last year have not been complied with, this court has no option but to direct for the personal appearance of the commissioner, HMDA, who will appear before this court through video conference on 24 July. He shall apprise the court whether the directions issued are complied with”.

The bench had passed orders on July 27 and August 11, 2023 directing the Lake Protection Committee--a statutory body constituted vide GO 157 (Municipal Administration and Urban Development)--to notify the buffer zone in lakes, water bodies and wetlands in HMDA limits and furnish it to the court. The committee headed by the HMDA commissioner had not complied with the orders of notifying 3,532 water bodies, particularly the Ramanna Kunata Lake from encroachment and construction within its buffer zone.

The bench was adjudicating the WP(PIL) 28/2024 filed by the Human Rights and Consumer Protection Cell Trust, represented by its member and SPA holder of trust Thakur Indraja Singh, seeking a direction to the Union of India and the State government to protect the lake from encroachment.

The petitioner’s counsel informed the court that the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Gachibowli, had resorted to encroachment and construction in the lake’s buffer zone, thereby blatantly violating the HC orders. He furnished photographs to substantiate his contention that despite the court orders there were illegal constructions within the lake’s buffer zone. He said the committee took the same stand before the National Green Tribunal, Chennai.

Hearing in the case was adjourned to July 24.