Medical Infrastructure Budget Underutilised, Bombay HC Takes Note In PIL

The Bombay High Court today asked the State orally why it was not using the funds for building medical facilities in the State in a suo moto PIL regarding mortality in government hospitals in the districts of Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in Maharashtra.

“You must understand the nature of litigation…we don’t want to discuss this further…infants are dying in government hospitals…why are you only using 66% of the budget?” Chief Justice Alok Aradhe made an oral statement.

On October 4, 2023, the Court took suo motu cognisance of a number of press articles that detailed numerous deaths in various government hospitals, including infant deaths. Doctors’ comments that the deaths had been caused by a lack of beds, doctors, and necessary medications were included in the reports.

The amicus curiae argued during today’s hearing that the State Government has only used 66% of the funds to build the state’s medical infrastructure. He noted that the State government has not provided an explanation about the remaining portion of the budget.

According to the earlier judgement, the State’s affidavit required to provide justifications for the budget’s non-utilization; however, the amicus noted that the affidavit omits this information. CJ Aradhe responded verbally, saying, “We’ll take them to task on the next date.”

The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) was previously ordered by the Court to submit an affidavit outlining the measures followed to fill open positions in hospitals and medical schools.

Following the affidavit, Justice Bharati Dangre stated verbally that the MPSC’s evidence merely indicated the number of open positions and that the problem also included the unfilled positions. “We would like a targeted program where you would be filling out posts within this timeline,” she stated.

The court postponed the case until next week and requested the state attorney to complete the affidavit.

Source: Live Law

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