Committee given 4 weeks deadline

SHILLONG, AUG 18: The Meghalaya High Court has pulled the High Power Committee (HPC) constituted by the state government for its failure to address the deficiencies in the health care services in the state even as it warned to the extend of “disbanding” the committee.

In its order passed recently, the division bench headed by the chief justice Dinesh Maheshwari said, “In the given circumstances, we pondered over the option of disbanding the Committee on its utter failure to attend on the responsibilities.”

The bench said that despite its repeated questioning, it cannot find a concrete answer to the fundamental query as to why the Committee did not hold regular meetings, though it was required to do so for the very tasks assigned to it and was under an obligation to do so by virtue of the orders passed by the Court.

Earlier last year, the Court had taken cognizance of the communication by four advocates relating to the deficiencies in health care services in the state which was later take up as a public interest litigation (PIL) in the division bench.

Following preliminary hearings on the matter, the Governor of Meghalaya had constituted the High Power Committee to address the deficiencies in health care services in the state last year.

During the hearing held on Wednesday, the government advocate (GA) has submitted on instructions of the Chief Secretary that even when there had been want of convening regular meetings of the Committee, all rectification measures would be taken and all the tasks would be seriously attended at so as to bring about concrete results in removing deficiencies in Health Care Services.

However, the bench said though, for what has been noticed in the past and today, it is very difficult to derive a reasonable satisfaction on the seriousness on the part of the Committee to attend on the deficiencies of health care services.

“But in the interest of justice, we think it just and proper to extend another one as a last opportunity to the Committee to bring about concrete and specific results,” it stated.

The order also stated it has been pointed out that the present Chief Secretary had earlier been chairing the meetings of the said Committee while holding the Office of the Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department and during his tenure, the meetings were regularly held.

Having regard to the circumstances, the bench decided to modulate the composition of the Committee and said that the chief secretary Y Tsering shall now function as its chairman and the additional chief secretary of health and family welfare department to continue as a member.

As assured by the GA, it is taken note of that the Committee shall hold its meeting on August 18, under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary.

“We would expect the Committee to hold regular meetings, at least once a week, unless otherwise ordered by this Court,” the bench stated in its order.

It also stated that it would be expected of the Committee to attend on all the deficiencies in Health Care Services in the State as indicated in its earlier meetings and as also pointed out by the Amicus Curiae.

Meanwhile, the bench has also directed the Committee to bring concrete results at the earliest within four weeks.

It also ordered the learned Chief Secretary to hold specific enquiry as regards the person/s responsible for not holding the meetings of the Committee for more than four and a half months and to take appropriate action in that regard.

The next hearing on the matter has been fixed on September 15.

By Our Reporter