Karnataka HC imposes fine on CM Siddaramaiah, directs him to appear before special court for MP/MLA
Bengaluru, Feb 6: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's plea to quash an FIR registered against him in 2022 and directed him to appear before a special court for MP/MLA on March 6.
The HC also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him, as well as Congress general secretary and Karnataka in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, ministers M B Patil and Ramalinga Reddy.
The case was registered against them after they took out a march to lay siege to the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's residence here demanding the resignation of K S Eshwarappa who was the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister at the time.
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The agitation was staged after a contractor Santosh Patil died by suicide accusing Eshwarappa of demanding 40 per cent commission on a public work in his village.
According to police, the case pertained to blocking roads and causing trouble to commuters.
The court maintained that public representatives should follow rules.
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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.
