How much money did you give MCDs to fight dengue, Delhi HC asks govt

One of the PILs was filed by Congress leader Ajay Maken. Since breakouts of malaria and dengue occur annually in the city after the monsoon, Maken said the civic agencies and the Delhi government usually took steps to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. This year, the plea alleged, the government had not released the required funds to the municipal corporations.

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As a result, the MCDs had not taken any steps to prevent dengue such as fogging and spraying of anti-mosquito medicine. It had not even undertaken the required awareness campaigns due to lack of funds, the plea alleged. The second PIL, filed by advocate Arpit Bhargava, also sought orders to the government to take steps to tackle the problem. Both pleas will now be heard on September 24 along with a PIL filed last week by law student Gauri Grover on the same issue.

However, the government’s counsel opposed the plea filed by Maken, alleging it was a “political” petition. “This PIL has been filed by a politician who has suppressed information about a representation filed by him to the Delhi government” alleged the lawyer, adding that the chief minister had responded to Maken’s representation and had asked the Congress leader for help in “jointly fighting the disease”.

The government also objected to the fact that information regarding the PIL had been released in many of the city’s newspapers before the plea was heard.