Delhi High Court slams Centre over delay in oxygen supply to the national capital.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday came down hard on Centre over oxygen supply to the national capital. The court asked why contempt action should not betaken for non-compliance of its order on May 1 and the Supreme Court's order.
"It has been brought to our notice that Delhi has not received 700MT oxygen inspite of Supreme court order. Even earlier quantity of 490MT was not even delivered," a division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli observed.
Pointing that the Supreme Court was assured by SG Tushar Mehta that Delhi will not suffer, the high court said that this assurance has not been fulfilled as "small and large nursing homes and individuals are running to us". On shortage of oxygen in Delhi, the high court told the Centre, "you can put your head in sand like ostrich, we will not."
"We reject the submission that Delhi govt is not entitled to receive 700 MT per day in light of existing infrastructure. It pains us that the aspect of supply of oxygen should be viewed in the way is done by centre. The situation has come to this that hospitals have had to reduce the number of beds," the court said.
The high court has directed central government officials to remain present before it on Wednesday when the hearing in the matter will continue.
The Delhi High Court on May 1 had directed the Centre to supply 490 metric tonne of allocated oxygen to the national capital or face contempt.
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The court took note of eight deaths in Batra Hospital due to lack of oxygen supply and told the government 'enough is enough'.
"Do you mean we will shut our eyes to the people dying in Delhi," it asked the Centre. "We mean business. Water has gone above the head," the court said and declined to defer its order.
The court said the government had made an allocation of oxygen to Delhi and should fulfill it.
(With inputs from agencies)
