Pulling up the KCR government over its handling of Covid-19 situation in the state, the Telangana High Court on Monday ordered state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar among other top officials to appear before the court on June 28.
The High Court also ordered principal and chief secretaries of the state’s medical, health and municipal administration departments to appear before it on July 28. The court directed the district collectors to disclose district-wise details of COVID-19 cases. The court directed officials concerned to disclose details of number beds and ventilators available in various hospitals.
The court warned the state government that it is giving the last chance to comply with its orders failing which it will initiate stringent action against the officials. The High Court questioned Advocate General B.S. Prasad why cases should not be booked against the officials concerned for disobeying its earlier orders and why they should not be suspended for their inaction. Compared to other states, Telangana was far behind in data collection and sample testing, the court observed. Further, the HC stated that Telangana miserably failed on testing, falling behind states like Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.
The court turned its ire against the state government for not releasing bulletins with regard to the number of beds, ventilators, PPE kits, masks and gloves. On its direction to release critical information regarding Covid-19 in government media bulletins every day, the court noticed that vital details were conspicuously missing from the official releases. In a more serious observation, the HC was of the view that the Telangana government was deliberately hiding the facts and misleading the court. The court observed that it was the fundamental right of the people to know information about the number of beds, treatment and testing. “Is the government in deep slumber,” the HC questioned the Advocate General.
On July 2, the HC warned that it will be forced to summon the state chief secretary and other senior officials for a personal appearance if the authorities fail to follow its directions. The court warned that it will have to summon the principal secretary of the medical, health and family welfare department, MAUD principal secretary and GHMC commissioner — will have to appear before the court if its orders remain unimplemented.
COVID-19 cases in Telangana climbed to 43,780 with 409 fatalities.
