The Delhi High Court on Wednesday told the Center that it should not focus on creation of buffer stock of medical oxygen in Delhi and questioned its stand as to why only the state government had to work for it.
“What happens to the order of the Supreme Court dealing exclusively with Delhi. It is the responsibility of both of you. Either you go back to the Supreme Court and say that the state should do it. You have to act on this. Please don’t pay attention to this. Time and again we have flagged it,” said a division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh, referring to the apex court’s April 30 order, which directed the Center and Delhi to prepare a buffer stock of oxygen for emergency purposes. was instructed. .
The court said that the buffer stock of medical oxygen cannot be created in a week as it requires infrastructure. “Today, when we look at the situation, undoubtedly you may feel that it is a pointless exercise, but in March everyone was looking at the situation like this and then we saw what happened in April and May. We have to make this. There is no way to avoid this. It is an insurance,” the bench said.
It said there was no clarity on the steps taken by the central government for creation of buffer stock. The Center submitted that the Delhi government “has done enough for the purposes of creating that buffer”.
The Delhi government on Wednesday told the court that at present the total storage capacity in the national capital is around 1400 MT – with 250 MT refillers, 724 MT capacity in existing hospitals and 421 MT of additional buffer, of which 221 already installed. The state government told the court that a 50 MT tank would be installed by August 10 and three tanks of 50 MT each would be completed by August 18.
The state government further told the court that it has around 420 metric tonnes of buffer stock of medical oxygen with sources located outside Delhi.
.