Excise policy case: Court asks Kejriwal to appear on February 17 on ED's plea
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Wednesday summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 17 on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him over the non-compliance of its summons in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy for the national capital.
"Cognisance of the complaint has been taken and summons is being issued to him to appear on February 17," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra said.
The judge had reserved the order after the ED submitted that it had concluded its arguments in the matter.
The ED had on February 3 filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal for the non-compliance of its summons.
Kejriwal on Friday skipped the fifth summons issued to him by the ED. The agency had issued the summons to him on last Wednesday.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor had earlier written to the ED, describing the summonses as "illegal and politically motivated". He had alleged that the summonses were aimed at preventing him from campaigning in elections.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
