Destitute/ Homeless Stand More Exposed To Covid-19; Require Urgent Vaccination: Madras High Court

A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and SenthilKumar Ramamoorthy directed that all the Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats should be sensitized to ensure that these vulnerable persons be regarded as candidates for 'immediate urgent vaccination'.

The development comes in a PIL seeking to ensure that the homeless and less privileged including pavement dwellers and persons who slip through the cracks in the system and may not be registered at all are protected against the virus and measures are taken to vaccinate them.

The Court, based on a status report filed by the Principal Secretary to the Government in the Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department, observed that there is a program in place to ensure expeditious vaccination of all such vulnerable persons at the earliest.

As per the status report, funds have been sanctioned and functional shelters are in place to take care of the class of persons that the petitioner wants to be vaccinated. The report also mentioned the Deendayal Antyodhaya Yojana [National Urban Livelihoods Mission] which has been implemented in 664 urban local bodies, including 15 Corporations, 121 Municipalities and 528 Town Panchayats.

Accordingly, the Division Bench disposed of the petition by requesting the concerned authorities to make sure that,

"no destitute or homeless or pavement dweller or other citizen of similar kind residing in the State is left out in the vaccination drive and all Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats should be sensitized by the department to ensure that these vulnerable persons be regarded as candidates for immediate urgent vaccination since they stand more exposed than other citizens to contract the virus."

Also Read: Vaccinate Mentally Ill Patients On Priority Across The State: Madras High Court To Tamil Nadu Govt

Case Title: M. Murgantham v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors.

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