Centre has a ‘special duty’ towards people of Delhi: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to urgently consider Delhi’s enhanced medical oxygen requirement in light of the fourth wave of Covid-19 in the city, observing that it has a “special duty” to the people of the national capital.
“Delhi represents the nation. There is hardly anyone ethnically Delhiite. Forget that somebody (Delhi government) wasn’t able to lift oxygen, but you have to push through because you have to protect lives. You have a special responsibility towards Delhi as the Centre,” a bench, presided over by Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The remarks came after Mehta, representing the Union government, contended that all the states were required to gather their resources to lift oxygen from the points of procurement, but the Delhi government failed to do so because it did not have enough tankers to carry the oxygen.
The law officer made this
NEW DELHI:
statement as the bench, which also included justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat, heard a public interest litigation registered suo motu (on its own) by the Supreme Court to manage various issues arising out of the second Covid-19 wave in the country and iron out issues between states and Centre at the national level.
The court also asked the Centre to consider increasing Delhi’s medical oxygen quota from the current 490MT, which has been a repeated demand of the Delhi government, and ensure that supply reaches the Capital.
The allotted 490MT, the bench said, has not reached the Capital even once because of logistical constraints.
“Please give them 200MT [more] straightaway and make sure it arrives there. The Centre has a very valuable responsibility when the citizens of Delhi are concerned. Otherwise between today and Monday, we will have 500 deaths on our hands if we don’t do anything. I’m shaken. Please, do something. You have to do it,” justice Chandrachud told Mehta.
While the SG retorted that the death of 500 people could not be attributed to the oxygen shortages, the bench said the Centre’s role was not confined to allocation of oxygen, and that it also has a “very important role” in arranging tankers for their transportation.
“We will place your submission at the highest [pedestal], and we will accept Delhi’s inability, but we are not here on recrimination. We are not criticising you at all. But you should also know Delhi represents people from the entire country. The Centre has a peculiar role. You are the national government, and it is the national capital,” the bench told Mehta.
“According to you, Delhi has not been able to lift [oxygen], but we cannot tell people that your parents or children or spouse cannot be helped because of this situation. This is a commitment we owe to the citizens and people who live here, and not to different levels of government. You have to give us the solution,” it told the SG, who assured the bench that the Centre will try to resolve the issue. The matter will now be heard on May 10.