Form Pandemic Grievance Committee in every district within 48 hours: Allahabad HC to UP govt |10 points

Allahabad High Court on Tuesday ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to form a three-member pandemic grievance committee in every district of the state for grievance redressal of people affected by the Covid pandemic. A Division bench comprising of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Siddhartha Varma also asked the state government to reconsider the Rs 30 lakh compensation announced for the families of polling officers who died due to COVID-19 after the UP Panchayat polls.

Here is the 10 point cheat-sheet of the big development

1) The court said the three-member panel would include Chief Judicial Magistrate or a judicial officer of similar rank, professor of a medical college to be nominated by the principal of such medical college or if there is no medical college then a level 3-4 doctor nominated by chief medical superintendent of the district hospital and an administrative officer of the rank of Additional District Magistrate to be nominated by the District Magistrate.

2) The court also said that the committee must come into existence within 48 hours of passing the order.

3) The HC order also said the pandemic grievance panel should also take the trouble looking into all the viral news (regarding those affected by the pandemic)

4) In related development, a single bench of Justice Siddhartha observed that the Election Commission, Higher courts and the government failed to “fathom the disastrous consequences” of allowing the assembly elections in few states and panchayat polls in UP amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

5) The Court also said that the first wave of the pandemic did not hit the village population but the second wave has now ‘sperad to the villages’.

6) The High Court did not approve of the compensation amount awarded to the families of those who died of Covid infection while performing duties during panchayat polls. The Court said compensation must be at least Rs One Crore for death of those officers, as it was mandatory for them to perform their duties. In a scathing remark, the bench said ” To compensate the loss of life of the bread earner of the family and that too because of the deliberate act on the part of the State and State Election Commission to force them to perform duties in the absence of RTPCR support, the compensation must be at least to the tune of Rs.1,00,00,000,” the Court said.

7) The court directed the state govt to disclose the number of COVID-19 tests done in both urban and rural parts of Bahraich, Barabanki, Bijnor, Jaunpur & Shravasti, and the laboratory from where the testing is being performed. The data has to be from 31st March, 2021 to till date.

8) The Court also directed the centre and state government to place before Court the program by which they would vaccinate illiterate labours and villagers in 18-45 years age group who can’t register online for vaccination.

9) The Court also asked the centre to explain how it plans to inoculate physically-challenged persons who cannot be brought to the vaccination centres.

10) The single judge bench also observed that the State lacks preparation and resources for the same at present,” while passing an order allowing an application for anticipatory bail on Monday.