"We Don't Want To Hear People Crying for Oxygen Cylinders": Supreme Court -Courtroom Exchange In Suo Motu Covid Hearing

"We don't want to hear people crying for cylinders of oxygen. There has to be some difference between today and the next day of hearing. The intervention of the Supreme Court has to result in something for the citizens", observed Justice DY Chandrachud on Friday.The bench, also comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhat, was hearing SG Tushar Mehta on the issue of oxygen supply to the states and UTs by the Centre."Although nobody had anticipated this second wave of Covid, the central government is prepared for it. No country in the world could have anticipated that this quantity of oxygen would be needed. But India was not an oxygen-surplus country before the pandemic.The central government has pulled whatever oxygen we have from whichever source possible – I am not using the word 'get' but 'extract' – we have extracted as much oxygen as we could have from wherever possible…", the SG told the bench."The first exercise that we did was to invite the states to give us an expected requirement. Based on this consultative process, we have allocated a particular quantity to each state. It is the responsibility of the state government to have this oxygen picked up. Transportation and logistics is an issue. But most state governments have handled it well. They have hired tankers. They have even requested import of cryogenic tankers which we have agreed to. Many states have asked industries in the chemical business to divert the tankers for transportation of oxygen only", he continued."We have a virtual central control room which comprises officers of the level of the joint secretary and additional secretary, from the Ministries of Health, Steel Home, DPDT. The states contact this room in case of a sudden urgency of oxygen and the room responds. I am aware that designation is not a guarantee of sincerity but I know from personal experience that all the officers in this room have shown sincerity beyond the call of the duty. They are working 24 x 7. And it is not as if they are obliging anybody, it is their job!", explained the SG."Suppose three tankers are designated to supply oxygen to Delhi and are stopped at Haryana by the officials of the state government, a distress call is made to the room. Suppose there is a requirement of 20 MT oxygen in the state of Uttarakhand on account of an eventuality, a distress call is again made to the room", he continued."If a state is unable to arrange the tankers, the Centre comes to the rescue. We don't say that if you are unable to do so then you are unable to do so. And this is nothing extra, we are supposed to do this. But the Centre is also facing some stress, though there are more and more tankers in circulation now. . Transportation would ease out even more in one week. But every state has to take a proactive role", submitted the SG."You have said that at the moment you have 1224 tankers and you said that you need 2000. What is the timeline for acquiring the same?", asked Justice Bhat."Some factual questions are arising for the first time. I don't want to reply to them immediately and say that it will take only a few days and all. But I want to say that this issue is being dealt with at war footing at the topmost level. Some philanthropic, big private industries have been involved in bringing in oxygen and the tankers. We are conscious that each life matters", said the SG."The allotment is dynamic. It varies every day, even every hour. There is an allocation of 8010 MT to 22 of the highest-burden states and union territories. The allocation was first made on April 15, and then it was revised on the 18th, 19th, 22nd, 25th and then the 27th. Oxygen requirement is calculated on the basis of active cases. The central government prepares the resources accordingly. We also look at the doubling rate of each state. This doubling rate is also calculated on a daily basis and the projections are accordingly updated on real-time changes", he added."Several industrial gas manufacturers have been granted the license to make medical oxygen and they' are supposed to start doing it within 24 hours of the application of the DGCA. The steel industry, which uses oxygen in gaseous form, as of April 21 has 16,000 MT of liquefied oxygen. The steel industry has supplied 1 lakh 43 thousand metric tonnes of medical oxygen till date from September 2020. Reliance and Linde are also involved in the manufacture of oxygen. The Reliance refinery in Gujarat has contributed significantly", continued the SG."What is the availability of oxygen on a pan India basis daily?", inquired Justice Chandrachud. "We cater to the needs", replied the SG. "So there is no deficit?", asked the judge. "No, I don't think so there is any on date", assured the SG."In your affidavit, you have shown the requirement of the states right now and also, the projection for the future. You have anticipated 100% increase in the demand in the state of Uttar Pradesh and 133% increase in demand in Delhi. According to me, the...

"We Don't Want To Hear People Crying for Oxygen Cylinders": Supreme Court -Courtroom Exchange In Suo Motu Covid Hearing

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