Centre must supply 700 MT oxygen to Delhi every day: Supreme Court

By LE Desk

New Delhi, May 7: The central government has to supply 700 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to Delhi every day till further orders, the Supreme Court said this morning, as top hospitals in the national capital continue to struggle to tackle the unprecedented rise in Covid infections.

“When we say 700 metric tonnes, it means (the amount of medical oxygen to be supplied) every day to Delhi. Please do not drive us to a situation to take coercive steps… We are clarifying that it will be 700 MT every day,” the top court said in sharp remarks, NDTV reported.

This is the third straight day that the shortage of medical oxygen – a key challenge that has emerged in India’s fight against a deadly second Covid wave – was discussed in the top court.

Delhi government’s lawyer Rahul Mehra today told the court that the city got 527 MT oxygen by midnight and 89 MT was received by today 9 AM; 16 MT was on the way, he added. 

“Yesterday we noticed lot of caveats on tankers. We are not going into this… we are not drivers,” Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud told the centre this morning.

The top court said it has constituted an expert panel to conduct an oxygen audit to understand the need of oxygen for every state.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court had made it very clear: “You will have to give 700 tonnes to Delhi (700 tonnes dena hi padega)”.

“If nothing is to be hidden, let it come before the nation how allocation and distribution is done transparently by the centre,” the court had said, adding, “The centre continues to be in contempt for not supplying 700 tonnes of oxygen to Delhi.”

The orders on yesterday’s hearing will be uploaded soon.

Over the last two weeks, many hospitals in the city have sent distress messages on social media, seeking urgent help.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/centre-has-to-supply-700-metric-tonnes-of-oxygen-to-delhi-everyday-till-further-orders-says-supreme-court-2436841