No gap in oxygen supply to Delhi; industrial use banned, Centre tells HC

There is no gap in oxygen supply to Delhi at present and its use has been banned for industrial purposes except for certain industries, the Centre told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health told the high court that there has been an inordinate increase of 133 per cent in the projected medical oxygen required, as on April 20, between the initial estimate of 300 metric tonnes and revised estimate of 700 metric tonnes submitted by Delhi.

The Centre also informed the high court that it has provided Delhi government hospitals with around 1,390 ventilators.

Earlier in the day, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli had asked the Centre whether oxygen supplied to industries can be diverted for COVID-19 patients.

"Industries can wait. Patients cannot. Human lives are at stake," the bench said.

It said it has heard that doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital were being forced to reduce oxygen being given to COVID-19 patients admitted there as there was scarcity of oxygen.

The ministry, in the affidavit filed through central government standing counsel Monika Arora, has also said that in order to increase the capacity of medical oxygen in Delhi, eight Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Generation plants are being installed by the support of PM CARES Funds.

"These plants would enhance capacity of medical oxygen by 14.4 metric tonnes," the ministry's affidavit said.

The observations by the bench came during the hearing of a disposed of petition related to COVID-19 tests and the high court revived it on April 19 by noting that the virus has raised its "ugly head" once again and the pandemic is raging with much greater intensity and "it is evident that the healthcare infrastructure is at the stage of imminent collapse".