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List steps taken to protect sanitation workers from Covid-19, HC tells Delhi govt, civic bodies
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought to know from the Delhi government and the three municipal corporations — north, south and east — about steps they have been
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought to know from the Delhi government and the three municipal corporations — north, south and east — about steps they have been taken for the safety of the safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) from Covid-19. The court also asked them to file detailed affidavits about the status of dumping of bio-medical waste at common dumping grounds, which they feared can aid the spread of Covid-19 among manual scavengers.
A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad said that dumping of bio medical waste at common dumping ground is a “critical area” and matter of concern as scavengers would be first to be exposed to the infection.
“This is a critical area, considering the submission made by counsel for the petitioners that bio-medical waste is being dumped in common dumping grounds, which can itself be a breeding ground of Covid-19 infection if any person unknowingly comes in contact with an infected PPE kit or gloves or masks. This is particularly a matter of concern as manual scavengers will be the first ones to be exposed to the infection,” the court said.
The court’s remarks came while hearing a bunch of pleas seeking PPE kits and other medical equipment for sanitation workers.
On Monday, the court noted that the affidavit and status reports filed by the Delhi government and the three municipal corporations were incomplete. It asked the authorities to give details of the number of sanitation workers in their jurisdictions and the number of PPE kits provided to them on a day-to-day basis during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It gave the Delhi government and the three municipal corporations a week’s time to file fresh affidavits highlighting the points raised by the bench while also detailing “whether sanitizing cubicles have been installed by the civic authorities in each ward and if not, what steps have been taken to ensure that after the safai karamcharis complete their duty for the day, they are adequately disinfected”.
Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for one of the petitioners Harnam Singh, told the court that while the authorities claim to have distributed the PPE kits, the workers on the ground do not appear to have received them.
The Delhi government in the affidavit, filed through its additional standing counsel Gautam Narayan, said that a PPE kit comprises of coveralls, masks, gloves and goggles and it has been receiving these components separately from HLL Lifecare Ltd, a government of India enterprise.
It has also said that using different components, it has made 2.77 lakh PPE kits till May 22 out of which 2.75 lakh kits have been issued to chief district medical officers, Delhi government hospitals and health institutions, municipal hospitals and zonal offices of different municipalities where sanitation workers are employed.
The matter would be now heard on June 9.
