COVID-19 Surge in India: Supreme Court Asks Govt to Rethink Formula of Allocating Oxygen To States Based On Hospital Beds & To Prepare For 3rd Coronavirus Wave
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to revisit its strategy to allocate the liquid medical oxygen requirement of the states/UTs depending on the number of beds and ICU usage. The top court also asked the government to do an audit of the system to reassess the basis for oxygen reallocation.
New Delhi, May 6: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to revisit its strategy to allocate the liquid medical oxygen requirement of the states/UTs depending on the number of beds and ICU usage. The top court also asked the government for auditing the system to reassess the basis for oxygen reallocation. The apex court also asked the Centre to devise a pan-India strategy of oxygen allocation before the third wave of coronavirus.
The submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was recorded before the bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah. Mehta said that an expert group had been constituted by the central government comprising a doctor and Member of Niti Aayog Dr. VK Paul, Director of AIIMS Dr. Randeep Guleria, the Director-General of ICMR and the Director-General of Health Services for calculating the requirement of oxygen on a pan India basis. Clampdown on Citizens Seeking COVID-19 Help on Internet Amounts to Contempt of Court: Supreme Court Tells Government.
"The purpose here is not to find fault with the expert group or the Union of India. We only wish to point out that in view of the experiences which have been had since the formula was put into motion, it is necessary for the Union of India to rethink the formula and determine if further consideration is required to meet specific requirements", reported the Live Law quoting the bench as saying. 'COVID-19 Management Not Our Prerogative', EC Tells Supreme Court on Madras High Court 'Murder Charges' Remark.
The top court also asked about the preparations made by the government to tackle the third wave of COVID-19. Justice Shah also questioned the Centre on how it would track the oxygen supplied to states to curb black marketing. The Solicitor general told the Supreme Court that a survey was conducted in 56 major hospitals of the national capital on Tuesday in which it was revealed that they had a sufficient supply of oxygen.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2021 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).