Cuttack, August 21: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday adjourned the final hearing in the matter pertaining to vacating of private medicine stores operating in the premises of public health institutions for two weeks.
Owners of 59 on-campus medicine stores in the government medical college and hospitals, district headquarters hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and community health centres in the state had filed a writ petition seeking intervention against eviction.
The Orissa High Court on May 14 had ordered the state government to maintain status quo in the matter.
The division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho said the order for maintenance of status quo with regard to operating of the shops shall continue. The bench expected the government to file counter affidavit and the petitioners to file their rejoinders by then and be ready for final hearing without seeking further adjournments.
The Odisha government had asked to vacate private medicine stores operating in the premises of public health institutions across the state following the order of the Orissa High Court on April 19.
The health and family welfare department had asked authorities of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, VIMSAR, Burla and chief district medical officers of 24 districts to immediately issue vacation notices to the campus medicine stores after the High Court dismissed all the petitions of on-campus medicine store owners on April 19.
Only government-run Niramaya medicine counters will operate in hospital premises. The Niramaya stores are providing all types of medicines free of cost at government hospitals following which the state health and family welfare department had decided to vacate the private medicine stores.
Campus medicine store owners' association had approached the Orissa High Court against the health department's communication in this regard on February 27, 2015. The communication had asked for no further extension of license of on-campus medicine stores or opening of new ones.
