MOSQUITO MENACE (Setting up of inter-departmental Committee)

Mr P. Selvadurai asked the Minister for Health if he will take steps to constitute an inter-departmental committee that will receive from the public complaints relating to the mosquito menace and take effective action thereon without the need to pass the responsibility from one Ministry to another.

The Minister for Health (Mr Chua Sian Chin): Mr Speaker, Sir, an Operations Room was set up in the Ministry of Health on 1st October, 1968, for the purpose of receiving all complaints relating to public health, including those on the mosquito menace, and dealing with them expeditiously. Every complaint received is investigated, if substantiated, remedial measures are promptly taken. Where the matter complained of is the responsibility of another Ministry, Government department or statutory board, or where the problem can only be solved by such other Ministry, Government department or statutory board, the complaint is immediately referred to them for necessary action to be taken. Quite often joint action is taken to deal satisfactorily with the complaint.

Since the existing arrangement I have described has worked satisfactorily, I do not think it is necessary to constitute a special inter-departmental committee just to deal with mosquito complaints.