The Supreme Court has asked the government to prepare a comprehensive policy for implementation of a plan within four weeks to eradicate leprosy from the country.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, yesterday asked the Centre to submit the plan as how it intends to fill the large-scale vacancy at the ground level. The bench told the Centre that people are required to successfully implement the government policies at the ground level.
Standing Counsel Bala Subramanium appearing for the government, said Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are leprosy endemic states and efforts are being made to eradicate the disease. He said, an online programme is being launched to detect the patients and their treatment.
Earlier, the court had asked the Centre and state governments to apprise it of steps taken to eradicate and curb leprosy. The bench, which was hearing a PIL filed by an advocate, had rapped the authorities for their apathy in eradicating leprosy, saying despite it being curable, the disease still remains a stigma.
The plea had said, leprosy affects over 1 lakh 25,000 people in the country annually. It said, the governments have failed to eliminate the disease despite medical treatment available since 1981.