'Foreign medical aid meant for public, not to be kept in boxes'; Delhi HC slams Centre, AAP over COVID-19 management

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said medical supplies sent as foreign aid is meant for the benefit of COVID-19 patients and not to be kept in boxes at some institution to become “junk”. “When the government has received it as medical aid, it is meant to help the people. It is not meant to remain in boxes somewhere and become junk,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said as per PTI. The bench was hearing a clutch of petitions on the COVID-19 situation in the National Capital. The observation came after amicus curiae and senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao expressed concerns regarding the manner of distribution of the medical equipment, received as aid, by the Centre and the Delhi government. “It should go to places that matter… it can’t be lying in a box outside AIIMS,” Rao said, as per  Bar and Bench. The bench said the concern expressed by the amicus “deserves consideration” and directed the Centre to verify the position on the ground with regard to the distribution of foreign aid to various hospitals. The court also asked the Centre to consider distributing the equipment to voluntary organisations, like Gurdwaras and NGOs, who are rendering public service. As per  a report in Bar and Bench, Rao said the Centre should give periodic reports on the status of customs clearance for oxygen concentrators. “We need to allocate the aid mindfully and not just give it to govt hospitals. Also how many have actually reached the hospitals?” Rao asked. He added that 48,800 concentrators were pending from 24 to 30 May and that over 28,000 ventilators came in and “it needs to be seen where they have gone”. As per PTI, Rao said Lady Hardinge Medical College received around 260 oxygen concentrators when it did not require that much. He said that such random and arbitrary distribution of the equipment may lead to a situation where it is not sent to the right quarters which actually need it. This comes on the same day that the Supreme Court stayed a Delhi High Court contempt notice to the Centre for failure to implement an order on immediate supply of full quota of oxygen to the National Capital. The National Capital reported 20,960 Covid cases and 311 deaths over the past 24 hours, as per data released by the state health department. During the course of the hearing, senior advocate Krishnan Venugopal again reiterated that the Centre must once and for all clarify their stand on getting the army in.

Venugopal: Once and for all the Centre must also state their stand on getting the Army in.

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 5, 2021

As per  Live Law,  Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, replied, “The army and air force can help on transportation of oxygen, but their resources are stretched so far as setting up hospitals are concerned.” To which the court said “fair enough” and added that the engineering wing of armed forces can look into the building of storage capacity, as per Live Law. The Delhi High Court had on Wednesday directed the Centre to respond to the AAP government’s request that the army help set up hospitals with oxygenated and ICU beds to treat COVID-19 patients as well as supply cryogenic tankers for oxygen. The matter will next be heard on Friday. The court also told the Delhi government that it may not be justified to put a cap at Rs 10,000 on financial assistance provided to a construction worker and his dependents towards the treatment of COVID-19 as it may not be sufficient if more than one person in the family was infected. The bench said that COVID-19 was a highly contagious disease and if one person in a family gets infected, others may too and each of them would require a course of medication. The court asked advocate Urvi Mohan, appearing for the Delhi government’s Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, to take instructions with regard to the concerns raised by it on the quantum of financial assistance. The direction came after Mohan told the court that the board has issued an order to provide financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to every COVID positive worker registered with it and to any of his dependents who are also infected, for treatment, subject to a maximum of Rs 10,000. The court also said that the board’s insistence on the RTPCR test report for disbursal of the amount would defeat the purpose of the scheme as the RTPCR test may not be affordable for a construction worker and the same is not always accurate either. The bench said that a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) report or a prescription by a doctor certifying that the person has COVID may also be considered as alternatives to an RTPCR test report.  

With inputs from PTI