Maharashtra to set up 1,000-bed Covid care centre in Nagpur after high court rap
The government informed the decision to the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday since the latter, in an earlier hearing, had expressed shock at the inaction on the government’s part
The Maharashtra government has agreed to set up a 1,000-bed Covid care centre at Mankapur stadium in Nagpur. The centre would have 400 beds with ventilators and 300 oxygenated beds.
The state government informed the decision to the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday since the latter, in an earlier hearing, had expressed shock at the inaction on the government’s part.
Nagpur municipal corporation had, on August 19, submitted a proposal to the state government to set up a 1,000-bed hospital at Mankapur stadium.
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During the course of hearing on a bunch of petitions concerning lack of infrastructure for treatment of Covid-19 patients in Nagpur region, the corporation had informed the Nagpur bench of the high court on September 15 that the state government had not taken a decision on the proposal.
In its order of Sepember 15, the bench of justice Ravi Deshpande and justice Pushpa Ganediwala had said, “We are surprised as to how the State Government is not responding to such proposal.”
“The situation in Nagpur is dreadful. The death rate is increasing day by day. Mortuaries are full. There is a queue in crematoria. The patients are not getting ventilators and oxygenated beds. The situation is becoming ferocious,” it said.
The bench had then directed the state government to take appropriate decision on the proposal within a week. The judges had also directed the chief secretary to personally appear before them if the government failed to decide the proposal.
On Thursday, the bench was informed that the proposal had been accepted by the government.
The court has now directed the divisional revenue commissioner as well as the Nagpur municipal commissioner to submit to it a detailed plan in respect of the facility and also to start the work for setting up the centre.