<p>The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up on Wednesday a plea by an NGO for a direction to the Centre to prepare a well-thought out national plan to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. It also contended there cannot be continuous arbitrariness in the decision making process, putting a disproportionate burden on the poor and other marginal sections of the society.</p>.<p>A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah would consider the plea by the 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' through advocate Prashant Bhushan.</p>.<p>The petitioner also sought a direction to the Union government to utilise transfer of all contributions made to PM Cares Fund to the National Disaster Relief Fund for the purpose of providing assistance in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>The petitioner also demanded laying down of minimum standards of relief, under Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to be provided to persons affected by the virus, as well as by the resultant national lockdown.</p>.<p>The petitioner contended a national plan needs to be prepared after due consultation with the state governments and experts, recommending ex gratia assistance for the kith and kin of those lost life not just because of COVID-19 infection but also as a result of the harsh lockdown restrictions.</p>.<p>"The plan should provide proper and detailed mechanism for any future lockdown measures, detailed coordination mechanism between Centre and States, social distancing norms keeping in mind the predicaments of the lower strata of the society, least disruption of public transports and essential activities, large scale ramping up of quarantine facilities along with rapid manufacturing oftesting and PPE kits and all this needs to be done transparently," it said.</p>.<p>There should be the minimum requirements to be provided in the relief camps in relation to shelter, food, drinking water, medical cover and sanitation, it pleaded.</p>.<p>The petitioner maintained that the right to health is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. Though the acute and unforeseen challenge in the face of the current Covid-19 pandemic was understandable, the statutory provisions in fighting the instant crisis were required to be followed both in letter and spirit.</p>.<p>"The latest national plan uploaded on the website of National Disaster Management Authority is of the year 2019, which doesn't deal comprehensively with situations arising out of the current pandemic and has no mention of measures like lockdown, containment zones, social distancing etc in it," it said.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up on Wednesday a plea by an NGO for a direction to the Centre to prepare a well-thought out national plan to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. It also contended there cannot be continuous arbitrariness in the decision making process, putting a disproportionate burden on the poor and other marginal sections of the society.</p>.<p>A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah would consider the plea by the 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' through advocate Prashant Bhushan.</p>.<p>The petitioner also sought a direction to the Union government to utilise transfer of all contributions made to PM Cares Fund to the National Disaster Relief Fund for the purpose of providing assistance in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>The petitioner also demanded laying down of minimum standards of relief, under Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to be provided to persons affected by the virus, as well as by the resultant national lockdown.</p>.<p>The petitioner contended a national plan needs to be prepared after due consultation with the state governments and experts, recommending ex gratia assistance for the kith and kin of those lost life not just because of COVID-19 infection but also as a result of the harsh lockdown restrictions.</p>.<p>"The plan should provide proper and detailed mechanism for any future lockdown measures, detailed coordination mechanism between Centre and States, social distancing norms keeping in mind the predicaments of the lower strata of the society, least disruption of public transports and essential activities, large scale ramping up of quarantine facilities along with rapid manufacturing oftesting and PPE kits and all this needs to be done transparently," it said.</p>.<p>There should be the minimum requirements to be provided in the relief camps in relation to shelter, food, drinking water, medical cover and sanitation, it pleaded.</p>.<p>The petitioner maintained that the right to health is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. Though the acute and unforeseen challenge in the face of the current Covid-19 pandemic was understandable, the statutory provisions in fighting the instant crisis were required to be followed both in letter and spirit.</p>.<p>"The latest national plan uploaded on the website of National Disaster Management Authority is of the year 2019, which doesn't deal comprehensively with situations arising out of the current pandemic and has no mention of measures like lockdown, containment zones, social distancing etc in it," it said.</p>
