"You are not naive, your Chief Secretary should have looked into it": Delhi High Court slams AAP Government for failing to procure & distribute allocated oxygen
A hospital facing critical oxygen shortage (Maharaja Agarsen hospital) informed Delhi High Court on Saturday that all their efforts to contact the nodal officers responsible for allocating oxygen in the capital had fallen on deaf ears.
"The Nodal Officer & the hospital was informed that the hospital's name was not even mentioned in the list of oxygen allocation," said advocate Alok Aggarwal before a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi & Rekha Palli.
The bench is currently hearing a plea by the hospital seeking supply of oxygen.
Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra informed the Court that the Delhi Government is facing a shortage of tankers, amid the Centre informing the Court that 480 MT has already been allocated to Delhi.
"Delhi govt would immediately send request letters & would make all arrangements of tankers," said Sr. Adv. Rahul Mehra for GNCTD
"That is being said from the past 3 days Mr. Mehra," said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
"Are you naive? Your Chief Secretary, Health should have looked into the matter. Take the help of the central government" said the bench.
"Till other problems are solved, NCT cannot sideline the hospitals," said Advocate Sachin Datta for Maharaja Agarsen Hospital.
Earlier during the day, the Centre informed Delhi High Court that officers of Delhi Government are not arranging means to supply or distribute the oxygen which has been allocated to them.
"All other States & UT's are arranging means to supply, distribute the oxygen allocated to them but Officers of Delhi Govt are not doing anything in this regard. Request the officials to work on the same," MHA, Additional secretary, informed a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi & Rekha Palli during the hearing in a plea by Maharaja Agarsen Hospital citing shortage of oxygen.
Some officers from the Delhi Government joined the hearing. Mehra for Delhi Government informed Court that the local officers were not supplying the tankers.
"Tankers are being imported. If tankers were available, our country would not import the same," he said.
To this, Justice Sanghi replied,
"Your purpose of officer here was to answer some questions. Is he here? What endeavour have you made to arrange for the tankers?"
The officer for Delhi Government replied, "We are trying to contact them".
The bench pulled up the officer for this conduct and took note of this casual attitude.
Justice Palli: Why are you taking it casually? How will you arrange for allocation of oxygen from Raurkela, Kalinganagar & Durgapur.
"For me every minute is crucial. The hospital only has 45 minutes of oxygen left," the hospital pleaded at this juncture.
The hearing is currently underway.