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Explain Why State Has Not Received/Obtained Full Oxygen Quota Allotted By Centre : Patna High Court To Bihar Govt
Akshita Saxena
25 April 2021 1:55 PM IST
The Patna High Court on Friday pulled up the State Government for failing to procure the full Oxygen quota allocated to it by the Central Government."There is requirement of continuous supply of oxygen for treatment of COVID patients and failure to procure the amount allocated by the Government of India is a serious lapse having perilous consequences of grave nature hugely affecting...
The Patna High Court on Friday pulled up the State Government for failing to procure the full Oxygen quota allocated to it by the Central Government.
"There is requirement of continuous supply of oxygen for treatment of COVID patients and failure to procure the amount allocated by the Government of India is a serious lapse having perilous consequences of grave nature hugely affecting the healthcare system to meet the challenge," a Division Bench comprising of Justices Chakradhari Saran Singh and Mohit Kumar Shah observed.
The Court was hearing of a suo motu case concerning reported deficient healthcare facilities in the State to meet the challenges posed by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
In its previous orders, the Court had repeatedly indicated that the State Government of Bihar must prepare and come out with a comprehensive action plan for effectively dealing with worsening Covid-crisis in the State.
During the hearing, the State of Bihar presented an action plan before the Division Bench regarding supply of oxygen for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The State submitted that the Centre has allocated of a quota of 194 MT per day of medical oxygen for Bihar and accordingly, 72 MT was supplied on 22.04.2021 and 60MT on 23.04.2021.
The Division Bench however took strong exception to this submission, asking the State Government as to why it had failed to procure the full allocated quota.
"Be that as it may, the figures clearly go to suggest that there is still deficiency in supply of medical oxygen for treating COVID-19 patients in the State of Bihar for the reason that admittedly the State Government has not so far received the full quota of oxygen allocated per day by the Central Government and in fact it has received less than half of the allocated quota to the State," the Court said.
Accordingly, it has issued a direction to the Health Department, Government of Bihar, asking it to submit a report by Monday (26.04.2021) stating the circumstance in which the State Government has failed to receive/obtain full quota of oxygen, as allocated by the Central Government.
The Court has also asked the Health Department to furnish up-to-date report in respect of installation of PSA plants by the Government of India. "The Court would expect the authorities to ensure that the process is expedited so as to ensure installation of PSA plants at nine medical college and hospitals as quickly as it is possible," it ordered.
The Bench has also ordered for setting up a dedicated "Covid-complaint" email at the High Court for private Hospitals facing Oxygen shortage due to reasons attributable to the State administration.
