Cuttack: Orissa High Court has expressed displeasure over the apparent laidback approach of the state government in responding to notices issued more than three months ago on a PIL complaining about maladies in the health care system.

The PIL has sought intervention "to protect public health care system from clutches of private operators".

Social activist and high court lawyer Chittaranjan Mohanty, 68, had filed the petition alleging that sanctioned posts of doctors in district headquarter hospitals and referral medical college hospitals in Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur were not filled up to serve the interest of private nursing homes and clinics.

The court had first taken up the PIL on April 24 and issued notices to the state government to file a reply within two weeks. The petition came up next on July 5 and the state counsel sought two more weeks' time that the court had allowed.

The state government was expected to file a status report on the vacancy position. But when the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, government counsellor Ramakanta Mohapatra sought more time.

The division bench of Chief Justice K.S. Jhaveri and Justice B.R. Sarangi took serious note of it, expressed displeasure and warned that such negligence warranted the court's appropriate order on the petition.

But when the government advocate pleaded for another week's time the bench allowed it while making it clear that no further time would be granted for filing the reply.

The court expressed concern as the petition had raised serious allegations that state-of-the-art testing equipment were either not available at government hospitals or made defunct so that patients had no other option but to go to nearby private clinics, who demand higher price.

In his petition, Mohanty has sought the court's direction to the state government to fill up all sanctioned posts - especially in medicine, surgery, paediatric, gynaecology and orthopaedic departments - in district headquarter hospitals "forthwith".