‘Examine Mumbai model’

The court also asked the officials of the Centre and Delhi government to have a meeting on Wednesday evening for a deliberation on supply and distribution of oxygen, besides also examining the “Mumbai model” of optimal utilisation of oxygen.

The S-G cited the “Mumbai model”, pointing out that despite having a case load of 92,000 cases as on April 10, Mumbai made do with just 275 MT of oxygen. The city also made arrangements for a buffer storage for imminent requirements. The court said that the Delhi government should consider replicating this model for the national capital.

The top court also urged the Centre to revisit its oxygen allocation policy, saying the existing quantum of allocations were chiefly linked to the number of ICU and non-icu beds in a state but did not consider the requirement of patients who could not get beds in hospitals but required oxygen support. “Your allocation formula is not scientific but based on some generic assumptions,” it said.

The bench also noted that the expert committee of the government did not include any eminent doctor associated with private hospitals, adding that it will consider setting up a committee on the next date of hearing for reviewing the formula of oxygen allocation.

Raghav Chadha, MLA in-charge of overseeing the oxygen supply in Delhi, said that after the high court’s rebuke, the central government has given a maximum of 555MT oxygen a day to Delhi till date, while the city’s requirement is 976MT. He said that the Centre’s responsibility doesn’t end there and added that it should also provide cryogenic tankers to ensure the transportation of liquid medical oxygen.

“The oxygen supplied to us yesterday (Tuesday), only 57% (555MT) of the needed amount of 976 MT, was not done via regular sources, but on ad hoc basis. It was a result of ‘jugad’ done by the Centre. It was not supplied to us via our identified sources... However, it was supplied only after the HC’S reprimand, through ad hoc and temporary means, like for example the trucks which were supposed to go to another state were diverted to the national capital… We really hope that we receive the oxygen with full certainty, and the plants which are designated to supply to us, must do so on a regular basis. It shouldn’t be occasional, wherein whenever the HC denounces the central government, they supply the oxygen to us on that same day or the next day…,” he said.