Khushi
The Supreme Court praised the work of the Mumbai Corporation to manage the oxygen situation and suggested adopting the Mumbai model for Delhi to manage the issue of oxygen.
A Bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah observed, “Draw from the experience of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai; they are doing some great work.”
The Bench was hearing a petition filed by the Central Government in response to the Delhi High Court’s show-cause notice for contempt for failing to supply 700 MT of oxygen per day to the National Capital Territory of Delhi in accordance with the Court’s orders.
During the hearing, the Bench proposed that the Bombay Municipal Corporation’s model be replicated in order to address the issue of oxygen shortage in Delhi.
“There is a wealth of information coming in every day. Bombay Municipal Corporation is doing some great work, with no disrespect to Delhi. What they are doing, how they are managing. We can learn from them. I also understand that Maharashtra also produces oxygen which Delhi cannot do,” stated Justice Chandrachud.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta agreed and informed that cases in Mumbai were also decreasing, and that despite having similar caseloads, Mumbai’s oxygen consumption was lower.
Even though the number of active cases had surpassed 92,000, Mumbai was able to manage with 275 MT of oxygen.
The Solicitor General stated that Bombay was asked to send a model so that other states could replicate it.
Justice Chandrachud also observed the need to create buffer stocks of oxygen for meeting emergency purposes.
It was also suggested that the Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries of both the Delhi and Central Governments discuss with the Commissioner of Mumbai Corporation to learn from Mumbai’s experiences.
“If this can be done in Mumbai, which is an incredibly congested city, then it can be done in Delhi as well.”
The Supreme Court held that, “If both the Chief Secretary and Health Secretary of Delhi and Centre could converse with BMC commissioner and the additional commissioner, if you can draw from that experience, how you can create storage tanks, and buffer storage etc, if you can do that between today and Monday, we will get a plan in place for Delhi on the Bombay model, we will have a fairly successful model in a global metropolis in Delhi.”
“We want to analyse what was done in a large metropolis like Mumbai and how it can be emulated, as we are answerable to citizens of Delhi.” the Court added.
The Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court’s contempt show-cause notice and ordered the Centre to submit a plan to it by tomorrow for increasing the daily oxygen supply to 700 MT per day.