SC audit team says Delhi exaggerated oxygen needs, Kejriwal calls it 'malicious' propaganda

New Delhi: An interim report by the Supreme Court's audit team has revealed that the Delhi Government had exaggerated the oxygen requirement of the city by four times during the second wave of Covid-19 in the country. The allegation pertains to April-May, which was the peak of the second wave. The exaggeration is said to have "affected other states".

The report submitted to the Supreme Court by the Centre says that the capital only needed 280 metric tonnes of medical oxygen for Covid-19 treatment centres, but claimed to need 1,140 metric tonnes, reported NDTV.

The allegations in the report have led to a rift between the Aam Aadmi Party and the union government. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has called the claim is part of "malicious" propaganda, and there is no such report.

During the second wave of Covid-19, the Supreme Court had ordered the Centre to supply 700 MTs of oxygen to Delhi. The report says that the infrastructure in the capital was inadequate to store that much oxygen.

The team has also pointed out that the consumption of medical oxygen from April 29 to May 10 recorded in the Delhi Government's data is less than 350 metric tonnes. It has deduced the average consumption to between 284 to 372 metric tonnes.

The sub-group called the gross discrepancy in oxygen requirement a disaster in waiting as it is affecting the supply to other states. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of hurting 12 other states.

Delhi Government has claimed that the total consumption of medical oxygen in the city was not less than 500 metric tonnes, said the NDTV report.

The report has named four hospitals - Singhal Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, ESIC Model Hospital, and Liferay Hospital - to have claimed extremely high oxygen consumption which does not match with their bed capacity.

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia said that the BJP should be ashamed of making malicious, false, unsubstantiated claims. He pointed out that during the second wave, relatives of Covid patients were seen on TV and online begging for oxygen. Hospitals sent out SOS messages on social media and even went to court. "Were they lying," he asked.

According to NDTV, a copy of the audit report was submitted to the Centre as per the instructions of the court. The report includes the recommendations of the National Task Force set up by the Supreme Court on assessment, supply, and distribution of oxygen across the country.

The audit report team was led by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria. Other members in the sub-group are Bhupinder Bhalla (Delhi Government Principal Home Secretary), Sandeep Buddhiraja (Max Healthcare Director), Subodh Yadav (Union Jal Shakti Ministry Joint Secretary), and Sanjay Kumar Sing (the Petroleum and Oxygen Safety Organization).