The Supreme Court today told the government that the current system of allocating oxygen across India, which is focused on the number of beds and ICU use, needs to be overhauled to account for changing needs such as home quarantine and ambulance use. It also demanded a full audit of the system to provide it with a pan-India perspective that ensures transparency once stocks are posted.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah heard the case of the government’s proposal for oxygen allocation in the face of shortages in various states, especially Delhi, and said the current formula based on the number of beds needs to be completely revamped.
“When you prepared the formula, not everyone wanted to go into an ICU. Many required oxygen at home. The centre’s formula does not take into account transportation, ambulance, and Covid-care facilities,” Justice Chandrachud said.
“We need to do look at the issue pan-India…an oxygen audit is necessary. What is the accountability once stocks are released?” the court asked, taking into consideration the logistics that follow the allocation and the modality for distribution to hospitals.
The court also inquired about the possibility of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and what arrangements were being made for this possibility.
“When the third wave comes, how will you deal with it? What is the plan? Suppose containers not available, what can be done?” the court asked the central government, to which the centre replied: “The Supreme Court can guide us.”
To Justice MR Shah’s question on tracking the oxygen supplied to states — about how to ensure the supplies are not used for black-marketing — the centre said the state governments are tracking their usage.
“Uttar Pradesh has placed GPS on tankers…In Mumbai, tracking tankers is happening in real time,” the centre said.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to send a proposal to ensure that Delhi receives its daily quota of 700 metric tonnes of oxygen.
