The Orissa High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Health Secretary, the DG of Fire Services and the Khordha district Collector to file their counters in the form of affidavits in response to a PIl filed in the court pertaining to gross violation of fire safety norms in the private hospitals and nursing homes of the State.
In the backdrop of the recent fire tragedy at the SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar, advocate Shivsankar Mohanty of the High Court in his petition has stated that several private hospitals and nursing homes are not adhering to the provisions of the Orissa Fire Services Act of 1993 and the Orissa Clinical Establishment (Control and Regulation) Act of 1990.
Stating the specific example of 2014 fire mishap in another hospital in Bhubaneswar, the petitioner has maintained that the hospital is running without a valid certificate of registration from the District Magistrate as per the requirement of the Clinical Establishment Act of 1990.
Annexing various letters of communication between him with that of the district Collector, the DMET and the DG of Fire Services in his petition, the petitioner has urged the court for an immediate intervention and direction to the concerned authorities to seal all those private hospitals and nursing homes that are running without proper fire safety measures.
Issuing notices to the respondents, a Division Bench of the court headed by the Chief Justice has posted the matter to be heard again on December 15.