Why MP, Maharashtra got more oxygen than they asked for, but Delhi less, HC asks Centre

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 29 

As the oxygen crisis persists in the national capital, the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre to explain why Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were given more oxygen than they asked for while Delhi’s allocation was not increased as per request of the NCT government.

“We’ve already had loss of lives in Delhi due to oxygen…You have to meet oxygen demand head-on and you can’t duck it,” a Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

Noting that the projected demand of Delhi was 700 MT a day while its allocation was only 480-490 MT a day, the Bench refused to accept Mehta’s submission that the incoming quantity of 340-370 MT to Delhi was sufficient.

It wondered how Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra got 543 MT and 1661 MT against the demand of 445 MT and 1,500 MT, respectively.

The central government had to either show some justification for this or make amends now that the situation had been brought to its attention, it said, posting the matter for further hearing on Friday.

Mehta said the Centre would give the reasons for giving more oxygen to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. “There are states which received less than what they had asked for…The kitty is being rationalised,” he said, requesting the court not to get into pan-India allocation.

Noting that it’s a “dynamic situation”, Mehta said the court should trust the system.

Producing a chart of oxygen demand by several states and the allocations made to them, senior advocate Rahul Mehra – representing Delhi Government – pointed out that only Delhi was not being given what it was asking for. Others were getting more than or close to what they were asking for, he added.

Mehra urged the court to direct the Centre to provide 1K MT oxygen, saying beds alone can’t save COVID-19 patients.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government told the high court that it has withdrawn the order to create of COVID-19 facilities for judges, staff and their families in a five-star hotel here.

The Bench – which had taken strong exception to news reports about 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel being converted into a COVID health facility for Delhi High Court judges — took on record the withdrawal order and disposed of the suo motu action initiated by it on April 27.

It also asked the Delhi government to create a portal for people who wish to donate medical equipment from abroad for COVID-19 patients after it was informed that several NRIs were ready to assist India in its fight against COVID-19 by gifting medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators but they didn’t know where to send it. (With PTI inputs)