Delhi Govt Must Arrange Tankers for Oxygen Supply: Delhi HC

Delhi HC directed oxygen suppliers to provide details of how much oxygen is being supplied to each hospital.

More Delhi hospitals send SOS for oxygen.

(Photo: The Quint)

Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to ensure the procurement of cryogenic tankers so that oxygen can be easily transported to Delhi in a timely manner.

In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the Division Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli further directed all the oxygen suppliers to give complete details as to how much oxygen is being supplied to each hospital. 

The present order has come in public interest litigation seeking the court to monitor the management of the COVID-19 crisis in Delhi.

Same Issue, Different Hospital

The court was forced to hold a hearing on Saturday as three hospitals – Saroj Hospital, Maharaja Agrasen, and Jaipur Golden hospital – approached the court seeking an urgent hearing to address the acute shortage of oxygen.

While one of the hospitals said that it is only left with minutes worth of oxygen, Maharaja Agrasen hospital informed the court that it has stopped admitting new patients due to paucity of oxygen reserves. 

“Till the other problems of transportation and logistics are solved, Delhi Government cannot sideline the hospitals.”

Senior Advocate Sachin Datta appearing for one of the hospitals

Shortage of Cryogenic Tankers

Delhi High Court noted that so far as supply from Kalinganagar and Rourkela is concerned, the Delhi government has not arranged for sufficient cryogenic tanks for the supply of oxygen from these plants.

“Central government will look into the issue of transferring oxygen from plants in Kalinganagar, Rourkela, and Durgapur, but the Delhi government should not leave it entirely to the central government to act in this regard.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta

At this point, Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra appearing for the Delhi government submitted that Delhi did not receive adequate oxygen as the same was diverted to Uttarakhand. The Solicitor General, however, opposed this averment.

Suppliers Must Disclose Information

During the hearing, the Delhi government informed the court that the government doesn’t know how much oxygen is supplied to each hospital by the suppliers. Therefore, the court observed that suppliers providing oxygen are not providing details of the amount of oxygen that is being supplied to Delhi.

The court directed all suppliers of oxygen to Delhi to provide complete details of the amount of oxygen that is being supplied to hospitals in Delhi. The said information shall be provided to the nodal officer, Udit Rai. 

“Central government is conscious of the increase in the second wave and is making necessary arrangements. The Delhi government should also work on the same and should know about the steps that are being taken in this regard.”

Delhi High Court