CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has sought reply of collector Sundargarh to a petition alleging operation of mobile medical vans (MMVs) in the district that do not conform to the not more than one-year-old prescribed vehicle specification.
The chief district medical officer, Sundagarh, had awarded contract for operation of 25 MMVs in the district to a Bhopal-based private party after inviting bids in October 2023.
“Considering the nature of allegation made in the present writ application, we direct, in the public interest, the collector, Sundargarh and the chief district medical officer, Sundargarh, to file their separate counter affidavits dealing with the statements made in the writ petition,” the division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho said on September 30.
Bavya Health Services Private Ltd, a Raipur-based organisation filed the petition alleging that 20 of the 25 MMVs operating in Sundargarh district are six to 13 years old when the contract terms prescribed “the vehicle used as MMVs should not be more than one-year-old from the date of manufacture on the date of commencement of service.”
The petition sought the court’s intervention against inaction on non-compliance of prescribed vehicle standards in operation of the MMVs, resulting in misutilisation of district mineral fund (DMF). Advocate Naresh Chandra Jena made submissions on the behalf of the petitioner.
The bench directed to list this matter on October 9, expecting the counter affidavits to be filed by then.