In what once again underscored Mamata Banerjee Government’s insensitivity towards tackling dengue pandemic, the State on Friday received severe reprimand from Calcutta High Court for peddling white lies when called upon to submit a report on the ferocity and expanse of the winged menace.
A Division Bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee
severely admonished
the Government for filing false reports on dengue
deaths when the appellant lawyer filed before it death certificates of four more victims — than what was submitted earlier by the Government.
Directed to file a status report on dengue deaths the Government had submitted a report stating 23 people had perished in Government
hospitals.
Soon after the appellant lawyer submitted four more death certificates that were not mentioned by the Government leading the furious Judges to lambast the Advocate General Kishore Dutta for filing false affidavits.
If that was how the Government affirmed before the judiciary then it would be very difficult for the court to rely on the Government statements, the visibly livid Judges said.
When the Government lawyer said that it was being difficult for the State to fight the winged menace on account of poor funds, the Central Government counsel present at the Court said that the State was not able to spend the funds sent by the Centre for that purpose.
The State however said that Government had spent Rs 46 crore whereas the Centre had sent only Rs 9 crore for the purpose.
Meanwhile, upping the ante against the State Government Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the State Government was indeed peddling lies when it came to spending central funds.
He said, “In 2015-16 Rs 22 crore had returned to the Centre unused by the State while the following year the State Government returned Rs 19 crore even as it failed to spend the money for dengue eradication.