Oxygen requirements dynamic and change from day to day, says audit panel chief
Amid controversy over the interim report of the Supreme Court-appointed audit panel on Delhi’s inflated oxygen demands during Covid-19 second wave, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, who led the panel, said on Saturday that it was an interim report and oxygen requirements are dynamic and change from day to day. Trying to play down the controversy, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for everyone to work together to ensure there is no shortage of oxygen in the next Covid wave.
“The virus will win if there is a fight among stakeholders”, Kejriwal tweeted.
“May we work now if your fight over oxygen is finished? Let us together make a system so no one faces shortage of oxygen in the third wave,” Kejriwal said in his tweet in Hindi.
“There was an acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave. It should not be so in the third wave. Corona will win if we fight with each other. The nation will win if we fight together,” he added.
Earlier, Guleria said, “It is an interim report. The oxygen needs are dynamic and change from day to day. The matter is sub judice.”
The sub-group constituted by the Supreme Court to audit oxygen consumption in hospitals in the national Capital during the second wave said the Delhi Government “exaggerated” the consumption of oxygen and made a claim of 1,140 MT, four times higher than the formula for bed capacity requirement of 289 MT.
The five-member panel said the Delhi Government had made the claims for allocation of 700 MT oxygen on April 30 of medical grade oxygen using a “wrong formula”.
Two members, BS Bhalla, Delhi Government’s principal home secretary, home, and Max Healthcare’s Clinical Director Sandeep Budhiraja, questioned the conclusions.
Bhalla gave his objections and comments on the 23-page interim report shared with him on May 30. The report has an annexure of communication sent by Bhalla on May 31 in which he said a reading of the draft interim report makes it “painfully apparent” that the sub-group, instead of focussing on the task, delineated from the terms of order of the Supreme Court dated May 6.
Citing the report, the BJP on Friday alleged that Delhi’s oxygen needs were “exaggerated” by four times during the second Covid wave.
While AAP leaders accused the BJP of “cooking up” the report from the Supreme Court appointed committee, the saffron party charged the Delhi Government with “criminal negligence”.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the “bogus” and “misleading” report was “cooked up” at BJP’s office and submitted by the Centre in the apex court.