Bihar’s daily oxygen quota is 270 MT, not 400 MT, Centre tells Patna high court

PATNA: The Centre on Thursday submitted before the Patna high court that due to a miscommunication, it was wrongly submitted that Bihar’s daily quota of liquid medical oxygen had been increased to 400 metric tonnes.
Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general KN Singh submitted that the increased daily quota of oxygen is 270 metric tonnes and not 400MT as stated earlier. He cited miscommunication by an additional secretary-rank officer.
Singh came forward to submit soon after the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar started the hearing on PILs of Shivani Kaushik, Rohit Kumar and Gaurav Kumar Singh filed over the grim pandemic situation.
Singh urged the bench that his submission be taken on record and updated. On Monday, Singh submitted that Bihar’s daily oxygen quota has been increased to 400 metric tonnes.
Meanwhile, the bench rapped the Patna Municipal Corporation for filing an unsatisfactory counter-affidavit on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the court had asked how the corporation was collecting and disposing of bio-medical wastes such as PPE kits, masks, testing kits generated in the area under its jurisdiction, but the reply was not present in the affidavit.
Corporation counsel Prasoon Sinha faced the high court's ire over the unsatisfactory affidavit, filed through him by municipal commissioner Himanshu Rai. It directed Sinha to file a fresh affidavit giving details as per order.
The state government is yet to file its reply over the report of a three-member technical committee headed by Dr Umesh Kumar Bhadani of AIIMS-Patna.
Advocate general Lalit Kishore requested the court on Thursday for granting time, which was allowed, and the hearing was fixed for May 25.
The court expressed its satisfaction with a supplementary affidavit filed by the PMCH superintendent Dr Indra Shekhar Thakur stating that the oxygen issue highlighted by amicus curiae Mrigank Mauli and other issues like hygiene and food facilities for patients have been addressed.
Mauli at this point submitted that an inspection be carried by the 13-member high powered technical committee headed by the AIIMS-Patna director at PMCH but the court did not entertain it.
Senior counsel PK Shahi appearing for the PMCH submitted that a committee has been formed for looking at oxygen supply arrangements, hygiene and food, and for grievances of attendants.
Senior counsel SD Sanjay urged that the committee formed in PMCH must be advertised to common people to which the court asked AG to look into it. The matter has been listed for hearing on Friday too.