Supreme Court sets up National Task Force for transparent oxygen allocation

12-member team to go beyond present crisis, prepare road map for transparent budgeting with States

The Supreme Court has constituted a 12-member National Task Force to streamline and ensure the “effective and transparent” allocation of liquid medical oxygen on a “scientific, rational and equitable basis” to States and Union Territories fighting COVID-19. The apex court had expressed its dissatisfaction at the Centre’s earlier “oxygen-for-bed” formula. This “rough-and-ready” arrangement, as the court put it, was based on calculating the allotment of oxygen based on the number of ICU/non-ICU beds. The court, however, said the formula did not take into consideration the fact that many COVID-19 patients in dire need of oxygen do not get beds or were confined to home care. A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a 24-page order released on Saturday, said the formula should be scrapped and the problem of allocation of oxygen required to be looked into afresh. A new mechanism devised more scientifically should take care of present requirement for oxygen as well as be flexible enough to accommodate “unforeseen demands due to emergencies which may arise within the allocated territories”.