The Hindu                         11.04.2013

Civic bodies set to take a ‘positive’ initiative

Staff Reporter

The government has announced guidelines for civic bodies to extend services and assistance to HIV-positive people.

Awareness campaign

Local bodies will coordinate activities such as organising awareness campaigns on transmission of HIV, identifying HIV-positive people, supplying nutritional food to victims, starting programmes to offer social and mental support to victims, initiating welfare activities, setting up adequate facilities at treatment centres and giving assistance to service providers.

As of now the Kerala Aids Control Society and the Health Department have been providing assistance to the HIV victims.

The guidelines have been prepared by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration and the Kerala Aids Control Society under the direction of the government.

P.P. Balan, director of KILA, said training would be provided to local bodies based on the guidelines.

“The local bodies can play a leading role in organising HIV detection camps, providing financial assistance to conduct laboratory tests and make available medicines and homecare facilities, setting up of social organisations for helping HIV victims and providing educational assistance for the children of HIV-positive people,” Mr. Balan said.

Civic bodies also could take the initiative in providing pension, unemployment wages, assistance under Asraya project, basic amenities like housing, toilets, electricity and drinking water, employment training and self-employment opportunities, he said. The guidelines suggest that local bodies can ensure quality services for HIV victims in hospitals under their control.

They can also provide infrastructure facilities for safety projects under the Kerala State Aids Control Society.

Monitoring committee

The guidelines also propose the setting up of a committee with the local body president as chairperson, health standing committee chairman as vice-chairman, medical officer as convenor, and two NGOs working in the field as members, to monitor and coordinate the implementation of activities. The District Planning committee will monitor the district-level activities. The district-level activities will be reviewed by a committee with district planning committee chairman as head and district collector as convenor.

Government prepares guidelines for civic bodies to extend assistance to HIV-positive people.

The Indian Express                        11.04.2013

Check mosquito breeding, now

To control diseases spread by mosquitoes, Pune Municipal Corporation has come up with draft rules that propose criminal proceedings against citizens who fail to check mosquito breeding in the city.

Civic officials said there has been an increase in cases of dengue, chikungunya and malaria in the past few years. Their breeding takes place in water tanks at construction sites, potholes, open septic tanks, water tanks without lids on open terraces, unused wells, non-operational decorative fountains, other water bodies like nullahs, swimming pool, storm water drainage and uncovered utensils used for water storage.

"To check breeding of mosquitoes in the city, PMC has decided to frame rules that are to be followed by citizens. In case of violation of such rules, individuals or organisations, whoever be the owner of the area where breeding of mosquitoes takes place, would be have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 and a further Rs 100 a day if no corrective steps are taken. The civic administration would further initiate criminal proceedings against them," Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak said.

According to the proposal, individuals or organisations should ensure that water stored or left behind on their premises does not create condition for mosquitoes to breed. "PMC may also issue stop work order to ongoing constructions, if mosquito breeding sites are located. This will continue till proper measures are taken," it added.

If the civic administration locates spots of mosquito breeding on private property, then the owner would be served a notice to initiate steps to tackle the situation, the proposal stated, adding that the civic administration would itself initiate action like "physical and biological measures" for tackling the situation after citizens fail in their duties. "The expenditure would be incurred by the owner of the land."

If the civic staff is opposed or hindered in any way while initiating the measures on private properties, the civic administration would take action against the owner as well, the proposal read.

Citizens are further directed not to leave materials like utensils or any such object in a way that could help in mosquito breeding, the proposal also stated.

Storm water drainage system, water supply system, gardens, swimming pools and other facilities on the premises of the building have to be maintained in a manner that deters breeding of mosquitoes, it said.

Speaking on the issue, newly elected chairperson of Women and Child Welfare Committee Vaishali Marathe said the committee discussed the proposal at its meeting, but was opposed to criminal proceedings, though not to penalising citizens found guilty of negligence. "The penalty on citizens can be understood, but allowing criminal proceedings would be too much. We would again take it up for discussion before taking any decision," she said.