Why Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra got more oxygen than asked for, but Delhi less, HC asks Centre

The Delhi High Court Friday questioned the Centre as to why various states including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh were being allocated more oxygen than they demanded while the national capital was not getting even the quantity necessary for treating COVID19 patientsA bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli made it clear that it was by no means interested in securing more oxygen for Delhi than required and that too at the cost of any state or Union TerritorySenior advocate Rahul Mehra representing the Delhi government said that while the national capitalrsquos requirement was 700 MT per day it was allocated 480 and 490 MT and the Centre has not increased itMehra and senior advocate Raj Shekhar Rao who is amicus curiae in the case informed the court that as per the national allocation plan Maharashtra demanded 1500 Metric Tonnes MT of oxygen per day and was allocated 1661 MT similarly Madhya Pradesh demanded 445 MT and it was allocated 543 MT and that the situation was similar for several other statesThe court said that if the information provided was to be accepted it would appear that the central government needed to explain this aspect and granted it a day to respond The Centre has to either show some justification for this or make amends now that the situation has been brought to its attention the high court saidSolicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre said the government will file an affidavit on the courtrsquos query and will give the reasons for giving more oxygen to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra if that is the case There are states which received less than what they had asked for We have been rationalising he saidDuring the hearing when the court asked a senior central government officer as to why Delhis supply was out of line while MP and Maharashtra were given more oxygen Mehta said the population of MP was more than the national capital He then told the officer ldquoYou cut from MP and give it to Delhi It would be at the cost of some lives in MP but let us do it for DelhirdquoThis was objected to by the judges who said Donrsquot give it an impression as if we are asking something extra for Delhi Donrsquot project like this We donrsquot appreciate this We are asking this on the basis of facts and figures You canrsquot be emotional about it You have to take this head on you canrsquot duck itrdquoDelhi government counsel also projected before the court the position of ICU and nonICU beds here Mehra said there are currently 16272 nonICU beds and 4866 ICU beds and they are in the process of adding more bedsThe existing oxygen demand in hospitals is 704 MT per day and after further augmentation the daily oxygen demand will be around 1000 MT he said adding that his grievance was the allocation of 480490 MT oxygen was far less than Delhirsquos requirementThe solicitor general said more tankers are being imported to transport oxygen and it was a matter of few days and once the logistical issues get settled the Centre will ensure whatever maximum supply is possible will be givenHe further said ldquoWe should not panic The situation is dynamic and everything keeps on changingrdquo To this the bench said panic is because of lack of resources Its not because of what judges or lawyers say panic is on groundldquoPeople are suffering but hospitals are not taking patients We already had loss of lives in Delhi due to shortage of oxygen It has fallen on you to resolve this How you resolve is your problemrdquoWhen the bench pointed out that 25 per cent more oxygen was supplied to MP than its demand Mehta said there must be some reason why MP was given more oxygen and urged the court not to go into pan India allocationThe court is hearing the matter on the oxygen crisis and other issues related to the COVID19 pandemic which the national capital is presently grappling with The hearing started at 1130 AM and is continuingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever